


Konoha Kudu-Cranes: Round Two

by GordandV



Series: Konoha Kudu-Cranes [2]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Naruto
Genre: AU, Crossover, Gen, Sequel to Konoha Kudu-Cranes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-05
Updated: 2017-03-06
Packaged: 2018-08-19 19:19:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 20,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8222014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GordandV/pseuds/GordandV
Summary: Or in which Kakashi, Obito, Rin, and Tenzou go about their lives following the attack on Republic City and take a trip to the South Pole. Obito develops a new skillset, and Iruka debates swearing off stepping foot in the Pro-Bending Arena.Tenzou rounds on Obito with a frown. “Did you meditate us into the Spirit World?” he demands angrily while shadows spread across his face. “By accident?”The sky goes grey.“No!” Obito replies immediately while he backs up. “Of course not!”





	1. Definitely Not a Compliment

**Author's Note:**

> V is excited to post the sequel to Konoha Kudu-Cranes. She didn't plan on writing another Naruto/Legend of Korra fanfiction, let alone an actual sequel, but it happened!
> 
> She thinks it's a good idea to have read Konoha Kudu-Cranes before reading Round Two since the first sets up character relationships with one another and general background information in her silly little universe.
> 
> Based off season 2 of The Legend of Korra.

Chapter 1: Definitely Not a Compliment

Obito knocks on Tenzou’s apartment door and waits patiently for it to be answered. It’s Sunday afternoon which means game night, and sure Kakashi is away for some police seminar in Ba Sing Se and Rin is doing the same for a healing one in the North Pole, but that just means Obito will only have to fight Tenzou for playing pieces: it’s much better odds than having to fight him in addition to Kakashi and Rin for the flying bison token.

It seems to take forever for the door to be answered, and Obito pulls a face when Tenzou only just cracks it so that he can peak through.

“Obito, what are you doing here?” Tenzou asks.

It sounds like he’s only just woken up and Obito banishes any thoughts of irritation since Tenzou might have been away on an ANBU mission and been up late. Obito quickly plasters a smile on his face.

“It’s game night!”

“… what day is it?”

Obito frowns. “It’s Sunday.”

“It’s Sunday?”

“Game night is always on Sundays,” Obito reminds. “Us and Kakashi and Rin usually have Sundays off, remember? I know I’m a little late, but since it’s only us two I didn’t think you’d mind. So, can I come in?”

Obito is already pushing his way in before Tenzou can answer or before Obito can be invited in properly. Tenzou stumbles back a bit when Obito barges in and Obito freezes just inside.

“I’m sick,” Tenzou rasps put in way of explanation for his current appearance.

“You look like shit,” Obito says, and he means it.

Obito has seen various post-mission hairstyles from Tenzou, but this is beyond anything he’s ever seen before, and Tenzou looks two seconds away from just collapsing onto the floor.

“I was sleeping before you woke me up,” Tenzou replies while he hugs his blanket closer around his shoulders.

Obito is still staring. “You really look like shit, Tenzou.”

“Yes, thank you,” Tenzou says with an irritated sigh before backing up to lean against the nearest wall. “I don’t want to get you sick, and I don’t think I’m feeling up to game night. Sorry, Obito.”

Obito doesn’t take the hint. He narrows his eyes like he’s studying every inch of Tenzou and then raises an eyebrow. “No, I mean you really, really don’t look good.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

“That’s definitely not a compliment,” Obito says when Tenzou starts to shiver. “How long have you been sick?”

“Since I got back from my last mission.”

“Which was?”

“What day is it?” Tenzou repeats, and Obito suddenly starts to worry.

“It’s Sunday.”

“Wednesday?”

“You’ve been this sick since Wednesday?” Obito sounds outraged. “When was the last time you took a shower?”

“Wednesday?”

Obito plants his hands on his hips like he’s seen Rin do before and does his best to look intimidating. “And let me guess: you haven’t visited the hospital to get checked out, have you?”

Tenzou just blinks.

“You’re worse than Kakashi,” Obito accuses.

“You’re worse than Rin,” Tenzou mutters.

Obito swoops into Tenzou’s personal space before anyone can get another word in. Tenzou’s already backed up the wall for support and has no room to maneuver by the doorway when Obito presses his palm against his forehead.

“Tenzou!”

Tenzou flinches at the shrillness.

“You’re burning up!”

“I’m _fine_.” Tenzou swats at Obito with one hand while keeping his blanket securely about his shoulders with the other.

“You’ve been like this since Wednesday?” Obito demands in shock.

Tenzou just nods. He suddenly doesn’t trust himself to speak. Obito’s flurry of comments about irresponsibility and health and “Rin would be so disappointed” are starting to sound very, very far away, as if Obito was on the other side of the door.

“Tenzou, are you even listening to me? Rin would be furious with you and… hey! Hey!”

Obito knows that he can be a bad friend at times: he’s frequently late, doesn’t always think before speaking, and can be impulsive. But he’s not as bad a friend as to let Tenzou hit the floor when he suddenly passes out. It’s a bit awkward catching Tenzou under his arms given the blanket in the way, but Obito manages it with only a few curse words. Tenzou’s out for only a few seconds and even manages a few indignant sputters when he comes to and suddenly finds himself sharing personal space with the earthbender.

“When was the last time you ate?” Obito asks in a much gentler tone.

Tenzou’s shaking from head to toe and can’t quite get his feet back underneath himself: he thinks he might go down again if not for Obito’s supportive grip.

“… I don’t know.”

“Wednesday?”

“Maybe?”

Obito knows he’d never live it down if he accidentally dropped Tenzou, and he’ll never outlast Rin’s wrath if she were to ever find out that he did that. So, Obito takes his time walking Tenzou back to his room with one arm dragged over his shoulders and the other around Tenzou’s waist. The darkened room is unbearably stuffy and Obito sits Tenzou down on the edge of his bed and then crouches. Tenzou’s swaying slightly despite being off his feet and Obito ever so gently presses one hand against Tenzou’s arm until he tips over onto his side: at least he can’t topple forward now.

“Better?” Obito asks.

Tenzou just closes his eyes. Obito feels his forehead again and grimaces: he has no idea what he’s supposed to do now. Rin usually just tuts once she’s done and tucking him into bed and threatens to freeze Obito and Kakashi in place until they’re feeling better, but it seems like Tenzou hasn’t done anything _but_ lie in bed, and he still seems to be in rough shape. Obito wonders if Tenzou has ever had anyone to fret over him like Rin and Kakashi do for one another: Itachi and Tezou may have adult jobs, but they’re still not quite adults, although Itachi has his entire firebending family (and Obito!) there for him.

“Did you plan on just expiring in here?” Obito wonders, and he waits for some type of snarky comeback, but none comes: it seems like getting up and answering the door has sapped whatever energy Tenzou had. “I’m going to go rummage through your cabinets and find you something to eat.”

There’s not much to work with in the small kitchen. Obito suspects that Tenzou cleaned his fridge out before his ANBU mission so he wouldn’t come back to mold and then promptly passed out in his room without going for groceries. There’s a few eggs of some kind in the fridge which seem to be good and Obito finds a large can of broth. As an eligible bachelor, (cue Kakashi’s smartass laughter) Obito has mastered single-person meals, including poor man’s egg drop soup. Rin just calls it lazy person’s egg drop soup since it doesn’t take a genius to heat broth and pour in a whisked egg, but at least it’s something that should appeal to Tenzou.

Obito makes enough for two, nearly breaks a cup while looking for dishes, and then brings a bowl back into the bedroom. He has to prod Tenzou awake and threatens to force-feed him soup. Tenzou eats half and looks like he wants nothing more than to crawl back under his covers, but Obito is sweating in the dark room.

“Where are your sheets?” Obito demands.

“My what?”

“Sheets,” Obito repeats. “Do you have one of those fancy linen closets? You’re going to take a shower and I’m going to change your bedding.”

“Why?” Tenzou says in confusion.

“One: because you need a shower and you’ll feel better after. Two: your sheets are probably drenched in sweat and you’ll feel better sleeping if they’re clean.”

Tenzou stares.

Obito shrugs and is thankful the room is dark when he starts to blush. “That’s what Rin does when I’m sick. I always feel better after.”

Tenzou drags a brush through his hair, shows Obito where he keeps his spare bedding, and then heads off to the bathroom with a new set of clothes. Obito raises the wooden blinds then opens the windows. It feels almost cool outside compared to the inside temperature, but Obito is sure the room will warm back up once he’s aired it out a bit. He can hear water running while he exchanges the bedding for new sheets and pillowcases. By the time the room is neat, or at least neater, the water has stopped and Obito finishes tidying up by closing the windows and pulling the blinds.

He hears the bathroom door creak followed by Tenzou mumbling something before there’s silence. Obito is just in time to see Tenzou sliding down the doorframe and keeling over. It’s a slow and steady slump, far from dangerous, but Obito can’t help but gasp. He rushes over, feels steam escaping from the bathroom, and sighs inwardly in relief when Tenzou starts to pick his head up.

“I forgot to remind you to make sure the water wasn’t too hot,” Obito admits while he sits on the floor and helps Tenzou rest his head on his leg. “You alright?”

“Mhm.”

“Still woozy?”

“Mhm.”

Tenzou’s hair is soaking wet and Obito wonders if he can do the same neat trick Rin uses to bend water out of her hair when it gets damp. Tenzou’s probably too out of it to bend anything but himself into bed, but there’s a towel on the floor within reach. Obito grabs it and starts rubbing gently.

“No drooling on me,” Obito says minutes later. “Sleep in bed, not on me.”

Tenzou lets Obito tuck him in under the blankets before burying himself in them.

“Did you already call out of work tomorrow?” Obito asks before Tenzou can drop off to sleep.

“I’m on leave. I’ll let ANBU know when I’m better.”

“Oh. Good.” Obito nods. “Also, I’m going to spend the night to keep an eye on you to make sure you don’t fry your brain. Alright?”

Tenzou doesn’t say no, but he also doesn’t say yes. Obito retreats from the bedroom, reheats his soup, turns on Tenzou’s radio to listen to whatever match is happening at the Pro-bending Arena, and then picks up a spare puzzle book from Tenzou’s pile.


	2. Better Social Skills

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You will never convince V that having Obito and Tenzou in an enclosed space for any length of time would not result in some truly amusing happenings.

Chapter 2: Better Social Skills

Rin and Kakashi step into Tenzou’s apartment and stop short at the sights and sounds before them.

“You’re not the boss of me!” comes Tenzou’s angry voice while he leans around a corner and continues to glare at Obito who is standing in the hallway, arms across his chest.

“And you’re not going to work,” is Obito’s remarkably calm but firm reply. He turns around and smiles at Rin and Kakashi while Kakashi stows his key. “Welcome back. How were your trips?” he asks brightly.

Kakashi offers a shrug: it was alright, nothing special.

“Good,” Rin replies unsurely before Obito turns back around and starts tapping his foot.

“You want to repeat that, Tenzou?” Obito asks.

“I’m going to work, and you can’t stop me!”

Obito lets out an exasperated sigh and motions angrily with one hand. “No, you’re not. You’re better, but your fever keeps spiking. You’re going right back to bed. I’ll call ANBU and let them know you’re still going to be out sick for a few more days.”

“No!”

“Don’t sass me!”

Rin and Kakashi continue to watch in morbid fascination.

“Bed. Now.” Obito orders.

“You’re not my real dad!”

“Don’t talk back to me, young man.” Obito’s calm demeanor flies right out the window when Tenzou steps around the corner and walks right past him. “Don’t you _dare_ even think about climbing down that balcony! Tenzou, get back here!”

Kakashi glances at Rin. “You’re not going to do something?”

“Obito seems to have everything under control,” Rin replies. “Besides, I don’t think I want to get in the middle of this.”

Obito grabs Tenzou about his middle, pinning Tenzou’s arms to his sides, and then leans back.

“Obito, I’m in ANBU! I outrank you! Put me down!” Tenzou can only kick the air halfheartedly while Obito slowly makes his way back toward Rin and Kakashi.

“We bonded while you two were away,” Obito offers. “Right, Tenzou?”

“Put me down you deranged earthbender!”

“I know you are, but what am I?”

Rin reaches a hand out, feels Tenzou’s forehead, and then nods. “Good job, Obito.”

“Come on, we can go sit on Tenzou while you two tell us about your trips.”

Kakashi drapes himself across the end of the bed and over Tenzou’s feet. Rin stretches out on one side, drapes a leg over Tenzou’s middle, and Obito sits on one of Tenzou’s arms.

“His arm is going to fall asleep,” Rin says. “Don’t sit on him like that, Obito.”

“I forgot to call ANBU!” Obito gets up. “Don’t start your stories until I get back!”

“Does ANBU even have an administrative office to take calls?” Rin asks once Obito is gone.

“I think a few ANBU rotate in order to learn better social skills,” Kakashi replies. He reaches a hand out to poke Tenzou’s knee. “So what have you two been up to since we’ve been gone? Bonding?”

Tenzou huffs. “He’s been keeping me prisoner!”

“I think rightfully so,” Rin says. “You do feel warm.”

Obito shuts the bedroom door when he returns then launches himself at the bed. He lands on the empty side, kicks Kakashi for good measure, and then falls off the edge when Tenzou shoves him.

“That’s for calling ANBU,” Tenzou says before dragging the blanket over his head and leaning against Rin.

“Tell us about your trips,” Obito insists while he picks himself up off the floor. “Nothing exciting happened here while you were gone except Tenzou got sick and he’s incapable of taking care of himself so I’ve been staying with him.”

Rin just smiles and pets Tenzou’s head through the blankets. “Poor thing.”

Kakashi finishes detailing his first night in Ba Sing Se and then pauses. He sits up and points at Tenzou. Rin pulls the top of the blanket back and then rolls her eyes.

“I guess we’ll have to repeat our stories when he’s awake,” she says with a sigh.

Tenzou is dead asleep.

“Have you been taking time off?” Kakashi asks Obito once they’ve migrated to the living room and made themselves comfortable.

“Just a few hours,” Obito replies. “I come back here after my shift and spend the night.”

“That’s so kind of you to do,” Rin gushes.

“I’m working my way through his scrolls,” Obito says before pointing to a pile. “He has some interesting ones.”

“Did you ask Tenzou if you could go through his things?” Kakashi asks while he picks up a delicate looking scroll on waterbending.

“Of course I did!”

“Did you ask him while he was feverish and possibly hallucinating?” Kakashi presses.

“… he still said yes!”

Rin rolls her eyes. “I hope he gets better soon. We have our vacation to the South Pole coming up soon and I don’t want anyone missing out.”

“What trip?” Obito asks in confusion.

“The one we’ve been planning for months?” Kakashi suggests. “That one that we all planned together, as a group, took time off for, and have been looking forward to since it’s not work related?”

The gears in Obito’s brain seem to be stuck. Rin buries her face in her hands with a sigh.

“Kakashi, before I kill him…”

“South Pole,” Kakashi explains slowly. “Vacation. Festival.”

“Uh…” Obito shrugs.

“Obito, I know you’re an idiot, but you’re not that dumb,” Kakashi remarks.

“Thank you? Wait, hey!”

“Obito, we put in our time off all at once,” Rin says pleadingly. “We’re going to the Glacier Spirits Festival in the South Pole. We all agreed that we needed some time away from Republic City and this was the perfect opportunity to do something different and not related to work.”

“Oh, yeah, that festival!” Obito says with a grin.

“You have no idea what she’s talking about, do you,” Kakashi deadpans.

“Well, no, but a festival sounds fun!”


	3. Opposite of Fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> V hopes everyone enjoys this week's chapter.

Chapter 3: Opposite of Fun

“This is not fun,” Obito complains from where he’s pressed against Kakashi’s side. “This is the opposite of fun.”

Obito is dressed in every piece of clothing he had brought for the trip and has inserted himself under Kakashi’s white cloak for warmth. Despite his own hooded cape and numerous layers, Obito is still shivering, and he knows he must look pitiful because Kakashi hasn’t done much but poke fun at him: he hasn’t tried to loosen Obito’s grip from around his torso or kick him out from under his cloak.

“It’s not that cold out,” Rin chides.

She and Kakashi and Tenzou (with Obito’s face the only thing visible from underneath his hood) look nearly identical in their matching cloaks, but no one seems to be suffering like the earthbender. It’s definitely chilly, but definitely not cold enough to make a fuss.

“I’m freezing!” Obito complains while he squeezes Kakashi tighter. “Can’t you turn up the heat?”

“I’m a firebender, not a space heater,” Kakashi replies. “I don’t work like that.”

Obito groans. Tenzou jerks his head at a stand which seems to be selling some type of local delicacy.

“That looks hot,” he suggests.

Obito looks reluctant to let go of Kakashi and open up the firebender’s cape when Tenzou offers him a steaming cup, but Obito can’t feel his fingers despite his thick gloves.

“What is it?” Obito demands through his chattering teeth while Rin takes a sip from a second cup and then offers it to Kakashi.

“No idea,” Rin replies. “But it’s tasty.”

Tenzou holds their drinks when the three of them decide to take a spin around the Ferris wheel in order to get Obito out of the wind. Tenzou makes the excuse that he sometimes gets sick in enclosed spaces and it’s better for him to not risk it, and Rin senses a lie, but Kakashi just nods serenely and agrees.

“He’s right. And I’d rather not have to deal with him and Obito at once.”

“Hey!”

“Obito, we can go back to our room,” Rin says once the sun has gone down and it really does start to get cold.

“B-but the fireworks!” Obito protests.

“They happen every night,” Tenzou reminds. “We can skip tonight.”

“I made it this long,” Obito says with a frown before stepping out from underneath Kakashi’s cloak and heading away from the carnival. “I can last a little longer.”

They’ve already been given directions from a vendor for a supposed perfect viewing area of the fireworks, and considering that no one else is following them, that either means the location is a hidden gem or it’s bad advice.

“How far are we going to go, Obito?” Rin demands some fifteen odd minutes later.

The festival seems incredibly far away, the only bright spot in a sea of ice and snow.

“This should be far enough,” Obito pants in reply.

They’re standing on some type of ridge overlooking the carnival, and Obito points when there’s a sudden burst of red and gold in the sky. Their vantage point is indeed excellent, and Obito is so enthralled by the controlled explosions that he even forgets about the cold.

“That was so pretty,” Rin says once the fireworks have stopped. “We should come out here again tomorrow night!”

Obito is about to agree that they should, but a sudden bout of shivering robs him of speech. Tenzou lets out a full body shudder, and Obito turns around just in time to see something big and purple rise out of the ground. It looks like a giant salamander on two legs, and it suddenly closes the distance between itself and Kakashi who is standing obviously with his back to it. Kakashi gets hit with the creature’s tail and goes flying. He lands a good distance away but is already getting back onto his hands and knees when Rin charges the thing. Its tail lashes out again, but Rin freezes the ground beneath her feet, sinks to her knees, and then slides forward and under the appendage while her hands form a series of well-practiced motions.

Blocks of ice rise up from the ground and trap the salamander for a few seconds before the frozen water bursts. Rin shields her face and lets out a cry when a narrow limbs hits her across the middle. Obito manages to grab one of her hands while she’s in the air and both of them fall into a snowdrift. The ground around the giant lizard begins to buckle, but every rock spike that rises narrowly misses the creature. It’s quick, and Tenzou has no time to prepare himself when the creature suddenly sets its sights on him.

A blast of fire, courtesy of Kakashi, nails the lizard in the side, but that doesn’t slow it down so much as piss it off. Whatever the creature is made of quickly regenerates, and both Kakashi and Tenzou are each grabbed with a tail-like limb before being flung away.

“What is that?” Obito demands while he hauls Rin to her feet.

Rin keeps her hold on one of Obito’s hands. She drags Obito along behind her while she bends a ramp of ice in order to catchup with the thing, and Obito just does his best not to lose his balance: he likes skating as much as the next person, but Rin is going faster than Obito would ever be comfortable with, even with proper padding.

“I have no idea,” Rin replies worriedly.

She reaches one hand out and sends a long shard of ice flying at the salamander while it closes in on Tenzou and Kakashi. The ice flies right through the creature’s head, lodges itself in the ground, and then breaks in half. Neither Kakashi nor Tenzou seem to be getting up very fast, and it becomes apparent why when Tenzou starts bending the snow behind them from his spot on the ground. The snow rushes forward, condenses and melts back into water, and reveals the rocks hidden underneath which made a far from soft landing for the pair. Tenzou’s waterwhip keeps the lizard at bay for a few minutes which gives Rin and Obito enough time to catchup.

Rin bends a thick sheet of curved ice behind Tenzou and Kakashi, and she and Obito whiz around the turn. Rin still needs one hand free to keep bending, but Obito has an arm. He snags Tenzou’s wrist as they sail around the curve, and Tenzou grabs the back of Kakashi’s cloak in order to drag him along. Rin’s speed on the ice ramp is significantly decreased given her other three passengers, and Tenzou has no gifts bending ice, but they’re still moving faster than if they just decided to run.

The salamander follows, and Tenzou adjusts his grip on Kakashi so that the firebender is facing completely backwards. Kakashi is mostly steady on his feet despite not being able to see which any which way Rin is going to take them and the ice rushing under his shoes, but he has both arms free.

“What is that?” Kakashi demands when every burst of fire either misses the lizard or hits it straight on, only for it to regenerate almost instantly.

“I have no idea,” Tenzou replies.

A sudden gust of wind whites everything out, and Kakashi stops bending. He can’t see the salamander, and he hopes that means that the creature can’t see them. The wind continues to pick up snow and ice, and Rin has her arm raised to try and protect her eyes. Obito doesn’t have a hand free in order to pull up the goggles hanging around his neck, and a single shout is the only warning the group has when the wind stops and Rin can suddenly see where they’re going.

Another outcropping of rock is dead ahead, and Rin does the only thing she is able to in order to keep the group from crashing straight into the ice-covered rock: she bends the ice under their feet up. Their momentum carries them up the ramp, and the vantage point gives them a good view of the tundra light by the moon. The salamander is only slightly off course, but it locks back onto the benders and makes a beeline for them.

“We’re going to die!” Obito shouts when they reach their peak and are momentarily weightless before gravity pulls them back down.

They’re going to slide right back down the ice ramp and straight into the lizard. Rin grunts and tightens her hold on Obito’s wrist when she encases her legs up to her knees in ice. They nearly lose their grip on one another when Rin abruptly stops falling, and Obito crushes Tenzou’s wrist in his hand. Tenzou spares a look up and then swings his hanging feet back up to meet the ramp: ice creeps up to his knees, and while it’s nowhere near as strong as Rin’s bending, it’ll help take some of the weight. Rin has both hands grasping Obito now, and Tenzou looks down to where his hand is fisted in the back Kakashi’s cloak only to find that he’s holding the cape the nothing else. The front torn, no doubt caused from the sudden stop, and Kakashi is sliding down the ramp. There’s nothing for him to grab onto and there’s nothing for him to bend that could get him to stop: even a burst of fire could only keep him in place for a few moments.

The salamander seems content to wait at the bottom for Kakashi and its long tail swishes back and forth in anticipation. A bolt of lightning sails right through the creature without harm, and Tenzou lets go of Kakashi’s cloak. There’s no wind, but there’s a sudden whiteout, courtesy of Tenzou, and Kakashi uses the momentarily blindness to slip right past the creature without harm. He can hear it hissing, and he scrambles back in what he hopes is the direction of the outcropping. Bending hasn’t done a single thing to the lizard, and he needs to find cover.

Tenzou stops the whiteout, and the salamander lashes out. Its tail suddenly grows five times its normal length and knocks the trio from their perch. They land more or less by Kakashi with their backs to the outcropping. Rin raises her hands and then pulls down. There’s a rumble and then all the snow above them begins to fall.


	4. Worst Sleepover Ever

Chapter 4: Worst Sleepover Ever

“You made an avalanche?” Obito shouts.

“It can’t get to us if it thinks we’re dead!” Rin yells in reply while keeping both hands above her head to bend the snow around them.

Kakashi, Obito, and Tenzou get as close to Rin as possible and Tenzou raises one of his own arms to help divert the snow. The rumbling seems to take forever to stop, and Kakashi lifts a hand once the snow is done shifting: a single flame hovers above his index finger.

“Do you think it’s gone?” he asks.

“I don’t want to find out,” Rin admits. “What was that thing?”

“A spirit?” Tenzou suggests. “That would explain why bending didn’t effect it and how it could pull itself back together.”

“What would a spirit want with any of us?” Obito demands. “And all the way out here?”

No one replies.

“I think we should wait a bit,” Rin says. “It probably thinks we’re dead, but it may linger.”

There’s a slight murmur of agreement. No one is a fan of dark enclosed spaces, but Rin assures everyone that her improvised igloo is solid and well-ventilated. Kakashi holds out both hands and slowly increases the fire until there’s enough to see by.

“Is everyone alright?” Rin asks. “Anything broken?”

“I think I bruised my tailbone,” Kakashi replies. “But I don’t think I broke anything.”

Tenzou and Obito reach similar conclusions. Rin bends away the excess snow and water clinging to their clothes.

“How long are we going to wait?” Tenzou asks while Obito opens the front of his cloak and steps closer to Kakashi so that they can share.

“We might as well wait until morning,” Rin suggests. “I don’t know about you three, but between the whiteout and getting tossed around, I have no idea where we are. And even if we did know where we were going, if there’s another whiteout or sudden blizzard, we’ll get lost. We should wait until there’s enough light to see by.”

“We’re going to spend all night here?” Obito sounds worried.

“It’s just for a few hours,” Kakashi reminds. “We’ll be fine.”

“I’m hungry!”

“We literally _just_ ate,” Tenzou says. “Not even two hours ago.”

“I burned it all off running away from that crazy spirit,” Obito protests. “And I’m still cold.”

“Obito, it’s warmer in here that it was at the festival,” Rin says in exasperation. “Do I need to explain why snow is an excellent insulator again?

“… yes.”

Kakashi watches Tenzou grab a fistful of snow and then slip his hand under his cloak and layers of clothes. Tenzou winces, and Kakashi cocks his head. Tenzou just offers a smile and holds out the snow: just icing his bruises.

“Tenzou!”

Tenzou looks at the snow and winces when he finds it speckled with blood. He pulls his cloak over one shoulder and then does his best to pull his shirt up. Kakashi holds his hand out while Tenzou twists and tries to look at his lower back.

“Is it bad?”

Rin gently probes the area around the bruise with her fingers. “It think you just scraped yourself when you landed. Does it hurt?”

“Not more than anything else.”

“Anyone else bleeding and not notice?” Rin asks lightly.

“I’m not taking anything off,” Obito replies firmly. “And you can’t make me.”

Kakashi dims his fire to a mere glow and then does his best to get comfortable. He and Obito sit on the waterproof cloak and Kakashi leans against one wall. Obito leans against him to avoid touching any more snow than he has to. Rin and Tenzou stiffly settle down on either side of the pair and then Kakashi closes his hand.

“I can’t see,” Obito remarks.

“You do realize it still takes a conscious effort for me to bend anything, right?” Kakashi asks dryly. “Besides, there’s nothing to see.”

“Rin’s here,” Obito replies petulantly.

“And so is Tenzou,” Kakashi says. “I’m not bending anything just so you can stare at them.”

“I’m bored,” Obito comments a few minutes later.

“I thought you were hungry,” Tenzou says with a little snicker.

“Shut up, I am!”

“Just go to sleep,” Rin suggests.

“I don’t want to freeze to death! Someone will find our bodies in a hundred years and they’ll ask why I was hugging Kakashi!”

“You’re hugging him?” Rin asks with a laugh.

“I’m bored and hungry, but at least I won’t be cold.”

“We’re not going to freeze to death,” Tenzou insists. “Like Rin said, it’s warmer in here that it is outside. With all our combined body heat, we’ll be fine.”

Snow crunches, and Obito makes a noise. “That had better be you grabbing me, Tenzou.”

“Just me.”

“Don’t tell me you’re cold as well,” Rin says in exasperation.

“Not really, but it’s dark in here, and the wind sounds creepy.”

The wind howling outside is far from soothing. Rin shifts closer to Kakashi for comfort and does her best to spread her cloak out over both of them.

“I wish Itachi and Shisui were here,” Obito says. “I bet they’re warm.”

“I think you just have poor circulation,” Kakashi says. “You should really get that checked out.”

“This is the worst sleepover ever!”

It doesn’t take much longer for the conversation to slow and then stop entirely. Kakashi thinks he might be the only one actually sitting up and awake, and he carefully reaches his hand out so that a single flame hovers above his index finger. It’s just enough to see by, and he’s proven correct. Obito still has both arms around him but has sunk down so that his head is pillowed against Kakashi’s shoulder, Rin is mostly draped over Kakashi’s lap, and Tenzou is wrapped up in his cloak and has his head resting on Obito’s hip. Kakashi closes his hand into a fist and leans his head back. It’s far from cold in their little air pocket, but it’s definitely not warm. They’ve all been sitting for some time now, and any extra body heat they had generated from running around and bending is gone. Kakashi shifts slightly, leans his head back, and then starts taking carefully measured breaths.


	5. Trek and Regulate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween!

Chapter 5: Trek and Regulate

Rin wakes up almost too warm and twisted in her cloak. It’s still pitch-black inside the pocket of snow, and Rin can’t figure out what woke her up since it’s dark and quiet, but then something cold drips onto her face. She does her best to untangle herself from her cape and then sits up, stretches, and feels around for Kakashi’s legs to orientate herself. Normally he would be the first one up, usually before sunrise, but neither he nor anyone else seems to be stirring until Rin hears Obito groan.

“What flooded?” Obito demands angrily.

Rin gasps when cold water suddenly touches her legs. She can hear Tenzou moving around followed by a few grumbles about sitting in slush, and Rin grabs Kakashi’s shoulder and shakes.

“Kakashi, wakeup, I can’t see,” Rin says.

“Why is it so hot in here?” Obito says. “Jeez, Kakashi, turn down the heat!”

Rin still has her gloves on, but the heat under her fingers is alarming. She can feel Kakashi’s head lolling on his shoulders and water seeping into her shoes and clothes.

“Something’s wrong with Kakashi,” Rin says. “I’m going to open this up.”

“I’ll help,” Tenzou adds.

Obito yelps when the snow around them explodes outward. “That was my face, Tenzou! Watch your hands!”

There’s simultaneous groans all around due to the sudden brightness, and Rin blinks back tears. It takes a few minutes for her eyes to adjust, but when they do, it becomes obvious why she’s soaking wet. The entire bottom of their pocket is nothing but puddles of water and slush. Kakashi is still leaning against one of the walls, but he’s sunken back into the snow from where it’s melted.

“What’s wrong with Kakashi?” Obito demands while he tugs his goggles over his eyes to try and lessen the glare from the snow all around them.

Rin taps Kakashi’s face none too gently and then rips her glove off and feels his forehead. “I think he’s been bending in his sleep,” she says. “He was trying to keep up warm.”

“He went way overboard,” Obito remarks with concern.

“He’s overheating,” Rin says anxiously.

“Can firebenders even overheat?” Obito asks with genuine curiosity.

Tenzou doesn’t waste any more time. He may not be able to turn water to ice, but he can do the opposite, and Rin steps back when Tenzou suddenly bends a bubble of water around Kakashi. It takes a few moments for the cold to register, and Kakashi sits up while his eye flies open. Tenzou keeps the bubble in place while Rin steps into it and grabs Kakashi’s shoulders.

“Stop bending,” she orders. “You’re going to burn yourself out. Stop bending. We’re all fine.”

Tenzou watches Rin back out of the bubble in alarm when the water starts to boil around Kakashi. Kakashi is mostly sitting up and swaying in place, definitely not fully aware of what’s going on around him, semi-alert and trying to process Rin’s repeated pleas for him to stop bending. He blinks a few times and then ducks under the water to completely submerge himself. Rin and Tenzou are hurriedly exchanging the hot water for a slushy mix, and Obito watches anxiously.

“What’s wrong with him?” Obito asks. “Kakashi’s a great firebender, why can’t he stop?”

“He probably fell asleep and forgot to stop bending,” Rin replies.

“I thought he said he to put effort into bending,” Obito says.

Kakashi sits up, sucks in a breath of fresh air, and then dunks himself again. The water starts to steam.

“I think he lied,” Rin supplies. “His body wanted to keep putting out heat and went into overdrive and now he can’t stop.” Rin chews her lip. “I’m going to freeze him. Just for a few minutes.”

Tenzou steps back and Rin exhales gently. The entire bubble freezes solid and then falls apart minutes later into a puddle of slush. Kakashi isn’t steaming anymore, and Rin bends away the excess water before the wind-chill can freeze it.

“Better?” Rin asks gently.

Kakashi nods and starts to shiver. Whatever excess heat had been present is now gone, and Obito quickly pulls off his cloak and wraps Kakashi up in it before bending over.

“Come on, we have to trek back, and I know your knees are shaking too bad to stand,” Obito mutters.

“How kind of you to offer,” Kakashi manages to stutter out between his chattering teeth.

“At least the spirit is gone,” Tenzou remarks.

“For now,” Rin says. “Let’s just get back to town as quick as we can.”

They’re farther out than anyone could have guessed, and the walk back is far from fun. A night out in the middle of the South Pole with a hastily improvised shelter following a spirit attack has done nothing to improve anyone’s health, and by the time they’ve reported the attack and returned to their room, Obito is the only one standing.

Kakashi has apparently temporarily lost the ability to regulate his own body temperature and is buried in his bed with blankets, hot water skins, and rocks that Obito leaves in their open fireplace until they’re glowing with heat and then bending them under the covers. Tenzou has done an abrupt turnaround with his health and is similarly covered in his bed but with a cold compress on his head to negate his fever. Rin, relieved to be back in the safety of their room, had all but collapsed on top of her blankets in exhaustion. Obito had managed to tuck her in and then set about making sure everyone else was comfortable.

“You and Tenzou should start a club, Kakashi,” Obito teases. “It can be called the ‘I’m going to almost fry my brain’ club. Who gets to be president?”

Kakashi snorts from where he’s tugged his blanket to just under his eye. “We’ll probably switch every other month,” he replies.

“Then lose track?” Obito suggests.

“Mhm.”

“I’m feverish, not deaf,” comes Tenzou’s slightly mumbled reply. “Come over here and say that to my face, Obito.”

“Uh, no, because if I do, you’ll try to get out of bed to fight me and fall on your face.”

“You’re a coward.”

“At least I have an immune system,” Obito says with an eye roll, and he hears Rin giggle. “What happened to yours?”

“If one person in ANBU catches something, we all catch it,” is Tenzou’s explanation. “Spending all night in an ice pit, even with Kakashi’s extraordinary efforts, isn’t exactly good for your health.”

“Go to bed, Obito,” Rin complains. “You’re keeping us all up with your chatter.”

“Yeah,” Kakashi and Tenzou agree at the same time.

“Excuse you all, but was I or was I not being a good nurse?” Obito demands, although he does begin to turn off lights and make his final rounds.

“You’re a good nurse,” Rin assures while Obito neatens her blankets. “But you need to sleep as well.”

“Rin’s still a better nurse,” Kakashi says.

“I’m still standing under my own power,” Obito points out as he wrings out Tenzou’s compress and then replaces it on Tenzou’s forehead. “If you get up and faint, I’m not helping you.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“And since _someone_ can’t retain a temperature higher than a dead fish, I guess we’ll be spending another night together,” Obito remarks.

Rin and Tenzou start laughing. Obito blushes.

“Stop it! I’m being extra nice to all of you and this is how you treat me?”

“I still appreciate you,” Kakashi says sincerely when Obito buries himself under the blankets beside him. “And you don’t hog the blankets or kick.”

“Shut up and go to sleep. If you can’t regulate your own temperature tomorrow, you’re going to spend your day in bed with Tenzou since he’s trying to be a space heater and doing a better job of it that you did.”

“Obito, I’m hurt,” Kakashi says with fake hurt while simultaneously sliding over.

“I don’t want to steal Kakashi from you, Obito. You two can stay in bed together as long as you want. I won’t interrupt,” Tenzou promises.

Rin almost chokes laughing.


	6. Not Decorations

Chapter 6: Not Decorations

“I’m almost sad to be leaving,” Obito remarks while the group waits on the docks for their ship which will take them back to Republic City. “This was a fun vacation.”

“What definition of fun are you using?” Rin asks. “I don’t consider getting attacked by a spirit and spending a night out in the middle of the South Pole fun.”

“Maybe I should have said exciting,” Obito corrects. “It certainly wasn’t boring.”

Rin, Kakashi, and Tenzou agree.

“The festival was fun,” Kakashi adds. “I would come back for it if there was a guarantee of not being attacked.”

Apparently spirit attacks have happened before, but they’re infrequent enough that they’re not mentioned to potential visitors due to the low risk of it actually happening.

“The rest of the trip went smoothly,” Tenzou adds.

After a day of rest, everyone had returned to the festival in good health and good spirits. (No pun intended, Obito liked to point out.)

“I’m sad we have to leave,” Obito repeats with a sigh. “Like Kakashi said, we should definitely visit next year.”

“Really?” Rin says. “You want to come back?”

“Why not?” Obito replies from where he’s invading Tenzou’s personal space and sharing his cloak.

“I just thought you weren’t a fan of the weather,” Rin says with a smile.

“I know what to expect now,” Obito says with a firm nod. “I’ll be better prepared and pack differently.”

“I don’t think Itachi and Shisui will fit in your luggage,” Kakashi points out.

“They’ll be carry-on items,” Obito says with a sniff while everyone else laughs.

Rin points when she spies a ship on the horizon. It’s approaching rapidly, and the delay between unloading and loading should only take an hour or so.

“Why isn’t it slowing down?” Tenzou asks when waves start lapping at the docks.

“Those are interesting decorations,” Rin points out. “Are they to ward off evil spirits?”

Obito gawks when the “decorations” start moving. “I don’t think those are decorations: I think they’re spirits.”

Kakashi grabs Rin and Tenzou by the back of their cloaks and starts dragging them back: Obito gets pulled along from where he’s attached to Tenzou’s side. People are running away from the docks as the massive ship keeps coming at them without showing any signs of slowing down. There are dark purple spirits crawling around the outside of the vessel, and Kakashi skids to halt on a patch of ice when one makes an impressive leap from the ship and lands on the docks in front of them.

“Not good,” he says, and can he see other people having similar issues evacuating when more spirits start jumping from the ship to land.

“I don’t have anything to bend!” Obito says in alarm when the spirit, something shaped vaguely like a mantis shrimp, rises up onto its hind legs and begins clicking its dangerous looking claws.

“I think we have bigger problems than that,” Rin says while she looks over her shoulder just in time to see the ship hit the docks and start to plough through the ice.

The noise in incredible, and the ground beneath everyone’s feet begins to buckle and shift from the impact. Cracks begins to race through the ice, and Kakashi lets go of Tenzou’s cloak but gives Rin’s a vicious tug. Rin avoids being decapitated when the mantis shrimp’s claw suddenly reaches out, and she and Kakashi tumble over one another when the slab of ice they’re on rises up and then bucks. They go flying and slide a few feet when they land on an untouched span of ice. Tenzou and Obito are on a sheet of ice separate from the pair, and Obito grabs onto Tenzou in desperation when the solid surface beneath their feet begins to tip and roll. Obito can see the dark water before they hit it, and he knows that this is going to be the coldest thing he’s ever experienced, but at least he knows (hopes) he isn’t going to drown since Tenzou can bend water.

It’s disorientating suddenly being turned upside-down when the ice sheet flips, and the water is colder than Obito could ever imagine and the current is strong, but Tenzou must have frozen his feet to the ice since he remains firmly planted to it. Obito isn’t about to let go of the death grip he has on the other bender, and they pause momentarily upside-down, and Obito feels oddly calm, but then something dark moves beyond Tenzou’s shoulder, and Obito lets out a shout that is nothing more than a single large bubble before he’s letting go with both hands to point in sheer terror. Tenzou grabs Obito’s cape before the current can grab him and pull him away, but Obito is still pointing and screaming and Tenzou turns his head. He reacts just as Obito did, shout lost in a bubble, and then the ice sheet continues to roll. The croc-shark misses grabbing either of them, and both benders wind up on their hands on knees when the ice finishes flipping over. They’re soaking wet, and Obito feels himself slide across the wet ice when Tenzou pulls the water from their clothes with one vicious swipe.

“Croc-sharks aren’t native to the South Pole!” Obito shouts once he can breathe.

“It’s a spirit! Of course it’s not native!” comes Tenzou’s angry reply.

The mantis shrimp is focused on Kakashi and Rin, and Obito struggles to get to his feet along with Tenzou while their slab of ice continues to rock back and forth. Obito still has nothing to bend and is reluctant to leave Tenzou’s side in case something decides to crack, and Tenzou seems to be thinking along the same lines: Obito has a much better shot of staying alive if there’s a waterbender near him in case he falls through the ice.

“You stay within three feet of me,” Tenzou orders before reaching out, and Obito quickly grabs his wrist.

People and spirits are scattered across the ruined docks, and the ship finally stops with a groan. Whatever solid sheet of ice had made up the South Pole’s harbor is now ruined, and ice floats begin to head out to open water. Rin and Kakashi are amongst those slowly heading out to sea, and both remain huddled together on their iceberg while the mantis shrimp advances on them. Rin has a waterwhip ready and is attempting to keep the creature at bay, but just like the lizard spirit, it doesn’t seem bothered by any amount of bending.

“We have to help,” Obito says before slipping and nearly dragging himself and Tenzou over the edge of their hunk of ice.

“What should we do?” Tenzou demands, and Obito is thankful that he said “we.” “Bending doesn’t seem to have any effect.”

The mantis shrimp hisses and then snaps one of its claws. Kakashi and Rin just manage to leap to another hunk of ice when their breaks in half.

“I don’t know,” Obito says desperately. “Something. Anything!”

Tenzou opens his mouth and then something bursts out of the water right beside him and Obito. The croc-shark has its legs tucked against its side, and it misses crushing Obito and Tenzou on the way down from its breach, but its long jaw does clip their ice sheet when it crashes back into the water. Obito and Tenzou are still holding each other’s wrists when they get tossed up into the air, and Obito grunts when he lands on something hard. It takes him a moment to realize that he’s straddling the mantis shrimp’s back and Tenzou is hanging over the side of the spirit.

“What are you doing?” Rin shouts when Obito drags Tenzou onto the shrimp and then makes a beeline for the creature’s neck.

“Something!” Obito shouts before launching himself at one of the claws.

Tenzou frowns when he finds spots of gold spreading out across the mantis shrimp from where Obito had been.

“Leave my friends alone!” Obito yells while he clings to the claw for dear life.

The purple under Obito’s hands turns to gold and begins dispersing. The mantis shrimp stops moving while the yellow hue continues to spread across its body, and Tenzou races down the spirit’s back to get to Obito who seems to have his eyes closed.

“Go back to the Spirit World!”

Tenzou grabs onto Obito’s ankle when he jumps and the mantis goes fully gold. There’s a brief pulse and Obito lets go. He and Tenzou fall, land in a watery gap between icebergs, and the mantis shrimp turns. It lunges at a lizard-shaped spirit, and the two collide. Gold begins to spread from where they touched, and the mantis shrimp snaps one of its claws. The shockwave hits another spirit which goes yellow, and the lizard lashes a glowing tail out at another creature. Some type of chain reaction is happening, and soon every purple spirit is going gold.

“What just happened?” Rin demands in confusion.

Kakashi shakes his head and then reels back when a large eye blinks at him. A massive croc-shark raises its snout from the water, tips Obito and Tenzou onto a sheet of ice from where they’re spread out across the spirit’s lower jaw and rows of teeth, and then bursts into a shower of gold sparks. The other spirits also begin to disappear, and Rin offers a relieved smile at Kakashi, but Kakashi is scrambling for the iceberg Obito and Tenzou are on.

“Obito, what did you do?” Rin calls.

She expects to find him and Tenzou sitting up, but instead Kakashi is rolling Obito onto his side and patting his back.

“Rin, help me!”

Rin is not used to hearing worry in Kakashi’s voice, let alone pure panic.

“What happened?” Rin demands while she starts bending water out of their companion’s lungs. “Did they hit their heads?”

Kakashi shakes his head. “I don’t know.”

Both Obito and Tenzou remain spread out on the ice and unconscious.


	7. By Accident

Chapter 7: By Accident

Obito sits up and frowns. He looks around in confusion while Tenzou picks himself up off the ground.

“This is definitely not the South Pole,” Obito remarks. “Where are we, Tenzou?”

They’re both in the middle of a massive green field. There’s a slight breeze, and the sky is bright blue.

“No idea,” Tenzou replies.

He leaves his cloak clasped but pulls the fabric behind his shoulders to free his arms. He offers a hand to Obito who takes it and allows himself to be pulled to his feet.

“Did we die?” Obito asks.

“I don’t think so.”

“Should we move?” Obito sounds unsure. “Or do you think someone will come find us?”

“I know even know where we are,” Tenzou says. “Let’s explore a little.”

Obito pauses near a tall flower with green stem and large pink bulb. He touches it and jumps back when the bulb unfurls into a butterfly.

“Er, Tenzou, in what world do flowers turn into butterflies?” Obito asks while the butterfly flits away.

Tenzou rounds on Obito with a frown. “Did you meditate us into the Spirit World?” he demands angrily while shadows spread across his face. “By _accident_?”

The sky goes grey.

“No!” Obito replies immediately while he backs up. “Of course not!”

“Hey! Watch it!” a rock shouts when Obito accidentally treads on it.

“Sorry!” Obito apologizes. “Do you know where we are by any chance?”

“What do you mean where?” the rock asks before stretching out its legs: Obito suddenly realizes that it’s a turtle with a rock shell. “We’re in the Spirit World.”

Tenzou looks murderous. Obito holds both his hands up.

“Obito,” Tenzou seethes, “Did you accidentally meditate us into the Spirit World when you grabbed that spirit?”

“Uh, maybe? I don’t know! It’s not like I can meditate anyways: I always fall asleep when I try!”

The gentle breeze suddenly turns into a strong wind. Thunder rolls overhead, and Obito continues backing away from Tenzou.

“Why do you think this is my fault?” Obito demands irritably. Lightning flashes. “You’re the one who had spirit-related experiments done on you! This is probably your fault!”

“ _My_ fault? I’m not the one who turned that mantis shrimp gold!”

“What are you taking about?”

“Any spot you touched on that evil spirit turned gold and started glowing,” Tenzou explains. “I had nothing to do with that.”

Obito shrugs. Tenzou clenches his hands by his side and exhales loudly.

“How can you accidentally meditate?” he demands. “How?”

“I didn’t do it on purpose,” Obito says.

“Obviously.” Tenzou rolls his eyes.

“Don’t get mad at me, I don’t know anything more than you do,” Obito says while Tenzou continues to advance on him.

Tenzou opens his mouth and then freezes in place. He looks down to find the green grass turning into thick brown strands of muck and wrapping around his legs. Something similar is happening to Obito, and Obito starts moving his hands, intent on bending the ground away from himself, but nothing happens.

“I can’t bend!” Obito says in alarm when the mud starts to swallow him, and Tenzou finds himself equally powerless.

“I can’t either!”

“I’m sorry!” Obito apologizes. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to send us here!”

Tenzou nods. “I’m sorry, too! I didn’t mean to get angry! I just don’t know what’s going on!”

They’re both waist deep and sinking fast. They’re too far to reach one another, and Tenzou tilts his head back when the muck creeps up his face. He can hear Obito taking a deep breath, and he does the same. The feeling of mud creeping into his clothes and over his face is replaced by wind, and Tenzou opens his eyes to find himself and Obito freefalling toward what seems to be a river. It’s dark, the water is cold, and the current is strong. Tenzou can hear Obito struggling to keep himself above the water, his name being shouted, and then they’re separated when the river forks in two different directions and Tenzou tips over the edge of a waterfall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's update was short, so V plans on (hopefully) posting another (even shorter) chapter later this week to make up for it.


	8. Beyond

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, another short chapter for this week.

Chapter 8: Beyond

Obito doesn’t know anything about the Spirit World, but he does know himself, and he knows that he’s gone far beyond freaking out. He’s lost his bending, Tenzou, and now any sense of direction he thought he might have had. The forest is dark, there’s mist everywhere, and Obito can see red and yellow eyes staring at him from the gloom.

“Tenzou, where are you?” Obito shouts. “Tenzou?”

His heart is hammering away inside his chest and Obito knows that he’s shaking.

“Tenzou, I’m sorry! Please, come back!” Obito presses his back against the nearest tree and sinks down against it. He hugs his knees to his chest and starts to sob when he hears something shuffle in the distance followed by a branch breaking. “Tenzou? Rin? Kakashi? I’m scared!”

Obito can almost hear Rin’s calm voice: you’ll be alright, Obito, just calm down and take a deep breath before you pass out. And Obito knows that he should listen to Rin, that she’s right, but he’s gone straight past terrified and straight into shock, and Obito would feel relief when he passes out, but his mind goes from panic to nothingness in an instant, and Obito doesn’t get the chance to relish in it.


	9. New Friends, Old Faces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some lines are directly taken from The Legend of Korra: I won't say more so as to not ruin the surprise.

Chapter 9: New Friends, Old Faces

“Obito, where are you?” Tenzou calls. “Obito?”

Whoever designed the Spirit World needs to share their logic with Tenzou, because he has no idea how falling off a waterfall could possibly lead him to another field, although this one is dotted with trees. He’s moved past his panic and now feels nothing but calm, partly due to necessity: he won’t be able to help himself, let alone Obito, if he’s running around like an emu-horse with its head cut off.

“Obito, can you hear me?”

Tenzou feels a little silly shouting Obito’s name, but he has no other idea what to do. He hasn’t come across any more spirits (good or bad) or any sign of Obito. There’s a thunderstorm brewing to his left over some truly creepy looking woods, and Tenzou has a feeling that he should investigate, but logical reasoning demands to know why heading in the direction of certain trouble is a good idea.

“You look a little lost,” a gentle voice says. “Maybe I can help you?”

Tenzou turns around and finds an old man with a lantern in his hand standing a respectable distance away. There’s nothing outwardly suspicious or dangerous about him, and despite his training, Tenzou nods eagerly. He doesn’t have any other options, and Tenzou doesn’t think he’s likely to think of any more anytime soon.

“Yes, please. I’m looking for my friend. We got separated and I have no idea where he went or how to find him. I don’t even know where I am.”

“That’s quite the conundrum,” the man says. “But I think I can help.”

“Thank you.”

The man motions, and Tenzou follows him. They head in the direction of the creepy woods and thunderstorm.

“Just visiting the Spirit World?”

“You could say that,” Tenzou replies with a faint smile. “My friend accidentally meditated us here when we were attacked by an evil spirit.”

“Mhm, that is quite the accident. We should hurry and find your friend and get you two back then.”

“Why?” Tenzou asks.

“I have no reason to return to the physical world since I no longer have a body there, but I presume that you and your friend would like to return to yours. Your physical selves are vulnerable when you’re in the Spirit World.”

Tenzou’s stomach drops out. The grass around him begins to brown.

“In the Spirit World, your emotions become your reality. You must try to stay positive.”

“Right.” Positive. There’s no way Rin and Kakashi would have let anything happen to his and Obtio’s bodies. No way.

“Judging by this storm, your friend seems to be having a hard time staying positive. This should help you find him.”

Tenzou accepts the lantern. “You’re not coming with me?” he asks, and he can’t help the disappointment in his voice.

“Some journeys are meant to be taken alone. I think this is one of those journeys.”

Tenzou nods. “Thank you very much for your help. Is there someplace I could return your lantern?”

“You can keep it.”

“Thank you.”

Tenzou pauses outside the forest and then looks over his shoulder in horror. “I forgot to ask you your name! I’m Yamato, but my friends call me Tenzou.”

“Nice to meet you, Tenzou. I’m Iroh.”


	10. Look Down

Chapter 10: Look Down

The lantern’s flame is a welcome light in the gloom of the forest, and Tenzou follows the slight bend of the fire. He can only hope that the flame is leading him in Obito’s direction, and after what seems to be hours of wandering, he can hear some sniffling.

“Obito, is that you?” Tenzou calls. “It’s me, Tenzou.”

The sniffling quiets. Tenzou winds his way around a series of trees and then pauses when the lantern’s flame suddenly sticks straight up.

“Is that you, Obito?” Tenzou’s familiar with stories about spirits tricking people, and he’s currently inclined to tread with caution. Extreme caution.

Thunder rumbles overhead. Obito raises his head and nods. He scrubs his eyes with the backs of his hands but makes no other move to get up.

“Is that you, Tenzou?”

“Definitely me.” Tenzou takes a few more steps forward. “You, er, don’t look like yourself, Obito.”

“I don’t?” Obito sounds surprised.

Tenzou’s seen pictures of Obito, Rin, and Kakashi when they went to the Academy together. Some are scattered around apartments and houses, and Kakashi keeps one framed on his desk at police headquarters. Rin always makes comments about how cute Obito was when he was little, and Kakashi always adds on a “wonder what happened” after Rin’s remarks.

“Look down, Obito.”

Obito does and suddenly realizes that he’s not wearing the same clothes he had been. That, and he’s definitely a lot closer to the ground. Obito screeches and a crack of thunder shakes the woods.

“What happened to me?” Obito demands before looking at Tenzou. “I’m older than you are!”

Obito sounds angry, and Tenzou can’t argue with him: Obito currently looks like he’s ten. The wind picks up and thunder continues to rumble. Obito’s crying again, and Tenzou knows that the storm is only going to get worse if he can’t get Obito to simmer down a bit.

“Calm down, Obito!”

That is the exact opposite of what apparently needs to be said. The eyes in the dark start coming closer and a few branches reach down and start to wind themselves about Tenzou. The lantern falls but remains right-side-up. Obito is hugging his knees to his chest and has buried his face in them while sobs continue to shake his body.

“Obito, what’s wrong?” Tenzou demands a tad frantically while he struggles against the branches. “We found each other, we’re alright. What’s wrong?”

Obito shakes his head. Tenzou suddenly loses his footing when the branches wrapped around him pick him up off the ground. Both arms are pinned to his side, and without any ability to bend, there’s no way he’ll be able to get free without Obito’s help.

“Come on Obito, I’m scared, too, but I’m not crying,” Tenzou offers. “That won’t help.”

Obito raises his head and glares. “It makes me feel better! Whenever I’m with you, something bad always happens!”

Tenzou is halfway to a trunk that has cracked open into a sinister mouth when he pauses. “What do you mean?”

“You get kidnapped by Equalists, and I get dragged with you!” Obito shouts. “I thought you had accidentally killed yourself when you tried bloodbending, and I still have nightmares about it! I thought I was bringing a body back to Republic City!”

The mouth closes and turns back into a tree.

“And now you’re yelling at me, and I didn’t _mean_ to bring us here. I still don’t even know how I did it!”

“You must be very spiritual and didn’t realize it,” Tenzou explains.

Obito snorts. “I can’t be spiritual.”

“Why not?”

“Because I always fall asleep whenever I try meditating,” Obito admits.

“So? Have you ever seen Kakashi meditate?” Tenzou presses.

“Yes! He’s all perfect and poised.”

Tenzou rolls his eyes. “He’s learned how to sleep sitting up. He’s worse than you.”

“Really?” Obito seems elated.

Tenzou can feel the branches loosening around him before they suddenly tighten.

“But he’s still a firebender!”

“What does that have to do with _anything_?” Tenzou demands angrily.

“He can bend lightning.” Obito now sounds wistful. “He’s a fantastic firebender, he’s ex-ANBU, and he’d make a much better Uchiha than I ever would. And Rin likes him!”

“But you’re an earthbending Uchiha!” Tenzou counters. “And you can bend lava. Has there ever been a lavabending Uchiha? Ever? Besides, ANBU is overrated.”

“Really?”

“Have you ever heard an ANBU boast about whatever mission they accomplished? No.”

Tenzou inwardly sighs in relief when he’s placed back on the ground. Obito isn’t crying any longer, and the storm seems to be calming.

“Do you feel better now that you’ve talked a bit?” Tenzou asks gently.

Obito shrugs. “You’re good at listening.”

“Better than Rin?”

“I can’t tell Rin everything!”

Tenzou blinks. “But I thought… never mind.” He supposes it might be hard to talk to Rin about a crush when she’s the one Obito likes.

“Can we go now?” Obito presses.

“I think so.”

The branches around Tenzou pull back. Tenzou picks up the lantern and is relieved to find that Obito has added a few years onto his body. Not quite back to normal, but definitely closer to his real age.

“I don’t like the Spirit World,” Obito declares before grabbing onto the end of Tenzou’s cloak. “It’s scary and weird.”

“So is Itachi.”

“I’m telling him you said that!”

“Then I’m telling him everything you’ve ever said about him while I’ve been in the room.”

Obito frowns. Sunlight begins to creep through the trees which are slowly starting to bud.

“Where’d you get that lantern?” Obito asks. “It’s nice.”

“I found a friendly spirit and he gave it to me. It helped me find you.”

“There are good spirits?”

Tenzou rolls his eyes. “Did you listen to anything at the Academy? Anything?”

“Er…”

“There are good spirits and bad spirits, just like there are good people and bad people. And you, apparently, can turn evil spirits back into good spirits if you touch them. I’ve never met an earthbending or lavabending Uchiha, or one that can do that.”

Obito brightens and Tenzou suddenly notices that he’s being towered over.


	11. Ends of the World

Chapter 11: Ends of the World

Obito can’t help but groan. He’s cold, wet, and feels like he’s been run over by a Komodo-rhino. Twice. He tries to sit up, fails to even get his hands under himself, and sinks back down into his puddle of water, exhausted from the effort. He turns his head to the side and blinks.

Tenzou’s spread out beside him on his back, wet hair twisted and draped over one shoulder. Obito thinks he may still be unconscious before Tenzou’s face pinches and he opens both eyes. He inhales deeply and then exhales slowly before turning his head.

“I win,” Obito teases in a whisper.

“I didn’t know we were racing back,” Tenzou rasps out.

They’re laid beside one another in some mockery of a tub, barely submerged in water that is swaying back and forth ever so gently. Obito is still wet and uncomfortable, but the slight rocking motion of wherever his is, is lulling him back to sleep, and he resists the urge to close his eyes. Tenzou seems to be having similar difficulties as each blink he takes grows steadily closer to the next one.

“Where are we?” Obito asks around a yawn.

“Ship?” Tenzou suggests tiredly. “We’re rocking nicely.”

Obito nods and then cranes his head. He smiles. Tenzou follows his gaze and a grin spreads across his face. It’s an awkward angle to look at, but it’s still Kakashi. He’s seated behind the large metal basin and leaning his elbow on a small table, chin resting in the palm of his hand. His lone visible eye is shut, and Tenzou raises one hand.

“I told you he could sleep sitting up,” he says before bending a bit of water between himself and Obito.

He flicks it at Kakashi who is awake in an instant, hands flying to his face to smooth the water back into his hair. He looks around in confusion before finally looking down. Tenzou lets the small spiral of water under his fingers fall and Obito offers the barest of waves.

“Obito! Tenzou!” Kakashi sounds equal parts relieved and exhausted. He wastes no time stepping into the tub and kneeling down. “You’re awake!”

“We could have drowned,” Obito points out with a smirk while Kakashi grabs Tenzou by his shoulders and sits him up. “What if we had rolled over?”

“I would have loved that,” Kakashi replies.

He lets Tenzou lean against him before reaching for Obito. Obito rests against Kakashi’s other shoulder and winces when all the air in his lungs is suddenly squeezed out.

“Still need to breathe,” Obito chokes out. “What’s wrong, Kakashi?”

“I need to go get Rin.”

“Can we get out of the tub?” Tenzou asks.

“NO!” Kakashi quickly regains composure and lowers his voice. “No. Stay right here. I’ll be back in less than a minute.”

Obito sighs once he and Tenzou are back-to-back and propping each other up. “What’s up with him?”

Tenzou shrugs.

Rin’s greeting is no less enthusiastic than Kakashi’s, although Obito notices something rather alarming while she’s hugging him to her chest.

“Are you… are you crying?” Obito asks.

Rin nods and tightens her grip around Obito.

“Why?” Obito sounds confused. Sure, the attention is nice, but he doesn’t like seeing Rin upset. Especially over him.

Rin sniffles and then wipes her eyes. “You and Tenzou have been gone for almost a week.”

Obito makes a strangled sort of noise. “A week?” He looks to Tenzou who seems just as surprised from where he’s leaning against Kakashi.

“I tried _everything_ ,” Rin continues before enveloping Obito in another bone crushing hug. “I tried everything I could to get you two back, but nothing worked. I had every waterbender in the South Pole try as well, but no one could do anything.”

“Where are we now?” Tenzou asks.

“On our way back to Republic City,” Rin answers. “If no one in the South Pole could help, I was going to see if anyone there could.”

“And if we hadn’t woken up?” Obito ventures.

“I would have gone to the ends of the world for you both,” Rin admits against Obito’s shoulder. “I’m just so glad you’re back.”

“What happened?” Kakashi finally asks once Tenzou and Obito have been subjected to Rin’s minstrations, dried off, and eaten.

“I think I accidentally meditated us into the Spirit World,” Obito explains with a glance in Tenzou’s direction.

He’s seated on the floor beside Kakashi, had on the firebender’s shoulder, wrapped up in a blanket and desperately trying to stave off sleep. Obito feels just as tired as Tenzou looks, but he knows neither of them will get any peace and quiet until they’ve done their best to explain what happened.

“I didn’t mean to,” Obito continues. “I just wanted to send the spirit back.”

Rin and Kakashi are hanging onto every word.

“How do you meditate by accident?” Rin asks.

Obito motions in a “that’s what I want to know!” fashion with both hands. “I have no idea. But I did.”

It doesn’t take long to finish narrating what happened in the Spirit World. Obito keeps his panic and ensuing freak out with Tenzou to the bare minimum and then waits for Tenzou to add his own half of the story, but it never comes.

“He’s out,” Kakashi comments.

Tenzou doesn’t so much as stir when Kakashi carefully extracts himself from underneath the ANBU operative and settles Tenzou’s head on a pillow.

“Can I sleep now?” Obito asks. “I’m tired, too.”

“Of course, Obito. We shouldn’t have kept you up this long,” Rin apologizes.


	12. Paperwork

Chapter 12: Paperwork

“I never thought I’d miss paperwork this much,” Obito says in delight while he looks over a large stack of files on his desk. “Nice, safe paperwork.”

“You’ll be sick of it again in a week,” Kakashi deadpans. “Just wait.”

“I will not!” Obito grabs an armful of files and hugs them to his chest. “Nothing better than paperwork.”

“Obito, you _hate_ paperwork,” Rin reminds from her own desk. “You always try to pawn it off on either Kakashi or me, and Kakashi has enough trouble filing his own reports on time, if he even does them.”

Kakashi nods.

“I’m a reformed man,” Obito swears. “I’ll take boring paperwork over getting attacked by spirits any day.”

Rin rolls her eyes.

Kakashi shakes his head. “I’ll give it a week before Obito’s complaining and wishing something would attack him.”

“Three days,” Rin challenges.

Obito sets the files down and spreads them across his desk before opening one up with a sniff. “I’m going to do my work,” he says. “Unlike you two who are just sitting there gossiping.”

Kakashi leans back in his chair, puts his feet up on his desk, and then holds one hand out. There’s an ANBU there and gone in an instant, but there’s a folder clasped in Kakashi’s fingers. Rin looks up from her desk and opens her mouth before closing it. She rethinks her decision and cocks her head.

“I’ve been meaning to ask for a while, Kakashi,” Rin begins while the firebender starts reading whatever he’s just been given. “But if you’re not in ANBU any longer, why do you get so many files from them? You don’t have clearance.”

Obito looks up and snorts. “Rin, do you even remember what we weren’t ‘cleared’ for when the Equalists attacked?”

“That was different, Obito,” Rin replies firmly. “That was a time of crisis.”

“I think ANBU just misses me,” Kakashi says without much interest before tossing the file to Obito.

Obito stares at it and then narrows his eyes in Kakashi’s direction. “Am I allowed to look at this?” he asks. “Or is Tenzou trying to play a trick on me and get me in trouble for looking at classified material?”

“Itachi dropped that off,” Kakashi corrects. “And you can look, it’s just being circulated now to all departments.”

Obito hesitates before opening the folder. “Akatsuki,” he reads. “Possible terrorist group with possible intents of world domination.”

“With possible use of, your favorite, Obito, spirits, to assist,” Kakashi continues happily.

Obito groans.

“That’s a lot of ‘possible’ to warrant an entire file,” Rin says.

Kakashi waves one hand. “There are some serious benders and non-benders in there,” he says. “Very, very dangerous if they’re all working together.”

Obito recognizes a few faces from Republic City’s Most Wanted list.

“It seems like a few of them have been seen together and are on the move,” Kakashi adds. “So everything that is ‘possible’ is now ‘most likely to occur.’”

Obito gets up and hands the file to Rin before moving and sitting on the edge of Kakashi’s desk. “If these Akatsuki people are real, we’ll be ready for them!” he declares, and quite a few officers look at him. “We’ll be prepared!”

“Obito, calm down,” Kakashi says. “This is just a precaution. Information sharing.”

“Like hell I’m letting some other psychopaths attack Republic City!”

Rin looks at Kakashi and shakes her head: Obito is already in fight mode.

“If anyone sees a member of Akatsuki, we’ll let you have first shot at them,” Rin says.


	13. Sleight of Hand

Chapter 13: Sleight of Hand

“Obtio, stop trying to look at my cards,” Tenzou snaps. “That’s cheating.”

“I was not trying to look at your cards!” Obito quickly leans back in his seat and clutches his hand closer to his chest.

Kakashi looks between the two of them and then draws a card from the dwindling deck. He places his five-card hand down. Tenzou and Obito lean over Tenzou’s table and then frown.

“I win,” Kakashi says simply.

“No you don’t,” Obito says. “That’s not a winning hand. I don’t even know what type of hand that is.”

“I thought we were playing by Tenzou’s rules,” Kakashi says in confusion.

“We were,” Obito says.

“But that isn’t any rule of mine,” Tenzou corrects. “We you trying play by Obito’s rules? Because you can put almost any hand down and win with his rules.”

“Not true!”

Kakashi picks his cards back up. “Why don’t we just play by the actual rules of the game?” he suggests.

“Because that would be playing by Rin’s rules and we only do that when she’s here,” Obito replies distractedly. “Tenzou, I declare a tradeoff. Two for one.”

Tenzou rolls his eyes and then offers his cards. Obito discards two of his own then reaches out to take one of Tenzou’s.

“Hey, no sneaky ANBU sleight of hand tricks!” Obito yells. “I can never catch Shisui when he does it, but I know what you’re up to!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Tenzou says while he reaches under the table to swap a card with Kakashi. “Just pick a card, Obito.”

There’s a knock on the door followed by Rin’s voice.

“Sorry I’m late!” she apologizes.

“Rin, you’re going to have to separate these two!” Obito complains. “They’re cheating!”

“Am not,” Kakashi and Tenzou reply simultaneously.

“ANBU tricks!” Obito accuses.

“Shisui isn’t even in ANBU,” Kakashi says. “He’s just good with magic tricks. I’m sure he taught a few to Itachi, and maybe Itachi showed some to Tenzou.”

Obito doesn’t seem amused. Rin quickly takes her seat at the table while Kakashi gathers up the cards and begins to shuffle them.

“I’m sorry I’m so late,” Rin says. “Some type of bubble spirit got into one of the water tanks at the hospital and… let’s just say it was a good thing I’m a waterbender.”

“That’s the third spirit mishap this week,” Obito remarks before launching himself across the table. “Stop hiding cards up your sleeves, Kakashi! I saw that!”

Tenzou accepts the deck of cards from Kakashi while Rin pushes herself back and away from the table.

“They’re going to break something if you let them roughhouse,” Rin says. “You should make them stop. This is your apartment, after all.”

“I already moved everything breakable and valuable after the first time they tried to wrestle,” Tenzou says while he watches Kakashi and Obito fall onto the floor. “Besides, this is far more entertaining than playing cards.”

Rin raises a hand to her forehead and sighs. “I can’t believe they’re adults.”

“On the police force,” Tenzou adds dryly. “Pillars for society. Don’t they set a nice example for me?”

Rin groans. “Do not follow their example, Tenzou. You’re a good boy. Don’t be like them.”

Rin and Tenzou perch on the back of Tenzou’s couch to watch the pair continue to roll around on the floor.

“Maybe we should switch activities before they actually hurt one another,” Tenzou suggests when Obito goes to bite Kakashi.

“Agreed.” Rin claps her hands and is promptly ignored. “Obito, Kakashi, that’s enough. Hey! Cut it out!”

The table shakes when Obito’s shoulder hits it.

“Hey!” Tenzou roars. “Knock it off!”

Obito and Kakashi stop immediately.

Rin begins to laugh. “That’s the same exact tone Kakashi uses on his dogs when they’re being naughty.”

“I am not a dog.” Obito sounds offended. “Tell them, Kakashi.”

Kakashi untangles himself from Obito and just shrugs.

“Since game night is ruined, Kakashi, Obito, why don’t we go burn off some extra energy?” Rin suggests. “I could use the exercise.”

“I call dibs on sparring with Kakashi first!” Obito calls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> V's kennel is stating to fill up due to the holiday season. She'll do her best to post again next week, but she might be delayed until after New Year's.


	14. Place Your Bets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> KKC2 should be back to the usual Monday postings: almost 200 dogs left V's kennel today and it should be slow going for a little while.

 

Chapter 14: Place Your Bets

The Pro-Bending Arena is bustling. There are no official matches happening that night, but there’s plenty of teams practicing. The Konoha Kudu-Cranes (and friend) head to their locker room, bring out their protective padding, and then debate which room to use.

“If I’m going to fight Kakashi, I want the most fireproof room there is,” Obito insists while he looks over a list of numbered practice areas.

“Not a room with more rocks?” Rin says.

“I’ll make due,” Obito says. “But I don’t want everything catching on fire.”

Kakashi is clearly offended by the suggestion that he can’t control his fire.

“We’ll use this room them,” he says before pointing to one which hasn’t been signed up for yet. “Fireproof and surrounded by water. We’ll have two waterbenders with us.”

The room is more like a mini-arena: the entire area is setup just like the main stage minus the audience seating, an exact replica down to the floor and grates with identical dimensions. However, the stage isn’t raised above any water: it sits in the middle of a pool, only an inch or two above the waterline. The pool itself is only three feet deep, more than enough to tell if someone slips off either end of the arena.

There’s a small platform just inside the door for Rin and Tenzou to stand on to keep their feet dry and a second-story observation platform for onlookers. The Kudu-Cranes usually don’t feel the need to have an audience or potential teams scope them out, but if Kakashi and Obito are just going to spar, there’s no reason to head into a private room.

“I’m not healing anything you two inflict on one another,” Rin calls once Kakashi and Obito are standing on opposite ends of the stage. “Bend wisely.”

“Eat my dust, Kakashi!”

Kakashi doesn’t react to Obito’s taunt. He sinks into a stance and Obito does the same.

“One lunch that Obito wins,” Tenzou says under his breath while Rin raises her hand.

“Two dinners that Kakashi starts bending lightning,” Rin offers.

“Two dinners and a lunch that Obito does something illegal first,” Tenzou counters.

“Two dinners and a lunch that it’s lava.”

“Deal?”

“Deal. Bend!”

The match starts off fair and continues on for a while, but then Obito ricochets a disc off one of the ropes and nails Kakashi in the stomach by accident. Obito does his best to apologize and halt the match until Kakashi is able to breathe, but the fight turns downright dirty the second Kakashi isn’t hunched over and wheezing. Rin already has a wall of water in place around herself and Tenzou when a massive burst of fire sails across the arena. Obito yelps and ducks behind two stacks of dices to avoid the hit and then peeks around the smoldering edges.

“That’s illegal,” Tenzou says, and Rin sighs softly in defeat: Obito isn’t allowed to bend two stacks of discs at once.

“Here’s hoping that Kakashi loses his temper and starts playing with lightning,” Rin adds.

There’s a small group onlookers on the observation platform who wince and groan as the cheap shots continue. It’s a dirty fight, but it’s entertaining nonetheless. Obito’s discs have gone flying, soaking the platform in water, and Kakashi bends over and touches his sparking hand to one of the metal grates. Obito freezes when electricity starts pumping through his body, but he falls over, loses the connection to the lightning, and kicks. Kakashi gets a disc to the face, not at Obito’s full strength and properly protected, and slides back a few feet on the balls of his feet.

“Ocuh,” Rin mutters in sympathy. “Did I not tell them I wasn’t going to heal either of them? They’re going to go into work tomorrow black and blue at this rate.”

“They’re just playing,” Tenzou says. “Isn’t that what siblings are supposed are supposed to do? Beat each other up? Lovingly, of course.”

Rin shrugs. “I’m an only child. But even if I had a sibling, I don’t think I’d want to fight like these two are. I’m not sure I see the love.”

Obito’s exhausted the discs on both sides of the arena and Kakashi doesn’t seem able to bend any more lightning or fire.

“Care to call a draw?” Rin asks.

Kakashi and Obito turn their heads. “No!”

“You two still have to go to work tomorrow,” Rin reminds.

They’re both breathing hard, definitely bruised, and too stubborn to call it quits. Obtio and Kakashi charge one another and meet in the middle of the arena. Obito tackles Kakashi about the middle and they both go rolling. Each keeps popping up on top and Rin holds both hands up to her face and peeks through her fingers. A few other onlookers are doing the same or cheering the pair on, and one person in a long black robe dotted with red and white clouds takes a few steps closer to the wall.

“Rin’s right,” Kakashi pants while he sits on Obito’s chest. “We should call it quits. We have to function tomorrow.”

Obito grits his teeth. “Never!” He twists, slides a bit under Kakashi, and then gets both legs up enough to grab Kakashi and pull him off.

Tenzou and Rin hear it before they see it. Whale songs aren’t entirely foreign to them, but the usually peaceful noise is pitched wrong and it sends shivers running down both of their spines. Obito notices the massive whale spirit swimming through one of the walls before Kakashi does, but that’s mostly because Obito has Kakashi in a headlock, and despite the protective padding, Obito is well on his way to choking the poor firebender out when he forgets to loosen his grip while he stares at the spirit.

Kakashi’s desperate grip on Obito’s wrist suddenly goes slack, and Obito swears loudly. He eases Kakashi down onto the floor, whale spirit forgotten, while his teammate’s body begins to spasm. He knows it’s temporary, but it’s frightening nonetheless, and Obito doesn’t notice the purple whale come fully into the room before it arches back as if breaching.

The onlookers are already gone, and Tenzou and Rin are already bending the water in the pool. The whale breaks through the ice they bend over the pair and Obito looks over his shoulder with a gasp. He ducks, covers his head with both his hands, and leans over Kakashi when the whale comes slamming down on top of them.

The shockwave from the spirit landing knocks Rin and Tenzou off their feet. Rin is the first to sit back up and she stares at the whale spread out on the arena while tears begin to gather in her eyes. The whale blinks slowly and then pumps its tail. It rises from the broken platform, and Rin can hear metal groaning and collapsing before she notices the earth dome slowly crumbling beneath it. Rin has no idea how Obito managed to bend all his bits of broken disc into an actual shield in that amount of time, but it doesn’t matter, because Obito and Kakashi are alive. Kakashi’s clearly dazed from his sudden stint of unconsciousness but is sitting up without Obito’s help while Obito sways dangerously on the spot. He’s definitely feeling backlash from holding the dome in place and slumps against Kakashi’s front when the whale suddenly drops on top of them again.

“They can’t take another hit!” Rin shouts while the whale rises again.

The dome is nothing but dust now, and Obito is out cold. Rin bends a single piece of ice across the room and curves it around the pair before jumping onto it. Tenzou starts ripping the walls of the arena apart and hurling them at the spirit to keep it distracted and from slamming down again.

“We’ll never outrun that thing!” Tenzou says while Rin whips around the curve, grabs a handful of each of Kakashi and Obito’s padding, and drags them away from the hole slowly filling with water.

“What do you propose we do then?”

“Obito needs to go touch the whale or we’re all going to die!”

It’s the strangest string of words he’s ever formed, but Tenou rethinks his wording and then nods to himself: he’s not exactly wrong. Assuming that Obito can turn the evil spirit good, they’ll survive if he touches it.

“You don’t know that will work,” Rin says anxiously once she’s hopped off her ice.

“You don’t know it won’t.”

“What other choice do we have?” Kakashi interjects while Rin lowers Obito to the floor with care.

“He’s out cold,” Rin notes. “How do you propose we wake him up? My bending may not do it.”

The whale is singing again. Tenzou splashes into the pool and then grunts when he reaches out to his right and pulls. The entire wall, from top to bottom, crumbles around the edges and then moves. The wall flies right through the whale which has abruptly decided to turn intangible and crashes against the opposite one. The entire building shakes, and Tenzou puts his hands on his knees and leans over, breathing hard.

“Remind me not to make Tenzou mad,” Rin whispers.

“Sorry, Obito,” Kakashi apologizes.

He’s exhausted from their spar, but he doesn’t need that much lightning, just a few sparks to shock Obito back into wakefulness for a few minutes. It’s going to sting, but Kakashi’s experienced much worse: the learning curve for bending lightning is steep. And painful.

“Ouch!” Obito bolts upright, smacks away Kakashi’s hand away, and begins swearing while he looks at where the firebender has rolled back his sleeve and touched him. “You burned me!”

“Only a little,” Kakashi says in a rush before grabbing Obito by the shoulders and turning him around. “Bigger problems.”

“Way bigger,” Obito notes dumbly.

“Can you exorcise it, or whatever it is you did to that mantis shrimp in the South Pole?” Rin demands.

“Er… maybe? I don’t know!” Obito looks at the whale. “How am I supposed to touch it without getting crushed?”

“I’ll take care of that,” Rin says. “Do you need to take a moment to meditate or anything?”

“Uh, no?”

Obito looks down at his forearm when Rin wraps water around it. He thinks she’s going to heal his burn, but the water suddenly freezes and then Obito is flying through the air when Rin turns around and whips her strand of water. He hits the whale straight on, spends a few moments panicking because he’s all but sitting in its mouth, and then reaches out and presses his hands against the dark purple skin. For a second nothing happen, but then gold blossoms beneath his palms and begins to spread. Obito sighs in relief and then pinwheels his arms when the spirit begins to disappear. He shouts, falls, lands in a large cushion of water courtesy of Tenzou, and then looks around at the destruction.

“I am _not_ getting blamed for this! Most of this mess is Tenzou’s fault!”


	15. Qualifications

Chapter 15: Qualifications

The number of spirit-related incidents rises by the week, and the once small file labeled Akatsuki grows steadily. There’s now no doubt that the organization is responsible, but the question of why and how still remains unanswered. There may be names to faces and some abilities noted and confirmed, but there’s still too much that remains unknown.

“Which is why we’re sending you in to infiltrate Akatsuki.”

Obito blinks and then looks around the Chief’s office: Kakashi and Rin sit on either side of him.

“Sorry, what? Were you talking to me?” Obito asks.

“Uchiha!”

Obtio flinches. “Did you mean _I’m_ supposed to go infiltrate Akatsuki?”

“Do you see me looking at anyone else?” the Chief demands irritably.

Obito’s immediate reaction is to accept the mission with a heartfelt promise to do his best and takedown Akatsuki or gather the information needed to do so, but the fact that he’s being asked to infiltrate when Kakashi and Rin are in the same room as him makes no sense.

“Are you sure you didn’t mean to ask Kakashi to go undercover?” Obito asks while he jerks his thumb at the firebender. “He’s ex-ANBU, you know.”

“I do know.”

“And Rin’s super smart!” Obito adds.

“I know.”

Obito frowns. “I’m sorry, but what exactly makes me qualified to infiltrate a mostly unknown terror organization? I’m sure there are better candidates.” And it stings his pride to admit it, but everyone knows there’s dozens of other officers who would do a better job than Obito ever could hope.

“First and foremost, you seem less vulnerable to the spirits,” the Chief begins, and Obito just shrugs a bit: that’s true. “You’ve proven that you can hold your own against them without backup.”

Still true.

“Akatsuki seems to be honing in on people who are spiritually inclined, including you. We think they might try to recruit you.”

“Er…” Obito doesn’t know how he feels about being recruited into an organization that plans on accomplishing world domination.

“And you’re the perfect person to slip into their ranks and gather intel. You’re a good officer, but you’re unassuming, and you don’t stick out. That, and you already have the perfect cover story for joining.”

Rin suddenly begins to fidget in her chair and Kakashi makes an effort not to look at Obito.

“Which would be what?” Obito asks, and the Chief hesitates before replying.

“Well… Hatake, you explain.”

Kakashi flinches. “We brainstormed a cover story,” he begins. “But they can be hard to keep up, especially under pressure.” Kakashi would know. “So we went with something that’s already believable for the general population.”

“Out with it,” Obito says with a slight laugh. “It can’t be that bad. Wait, no, let me guess!” He begins to grin. “I’m going to be recruited by the Akatsuki for my spiritual prowess which they see as an advantage as well as my bending abilities. And they’ll ask me, ‘Obito, why do you want to rule the world? Why do you want to join the Akatsuki?’ And I’ll say, ‘I want revenge on my family for shunning me for my bending even though it’d be acceptable in any other family! If we rule the world, they’ll get the punishment they deserve!’” Obito stops and begins to laugh. “How silly would that cover story be?”

No one else laughs.

“Come on. Really?” Obito looks to Rin. “Really, Rin?”

Rin shrugs. “No one would blame you, Obito. Most of your family are a bit nasty to you just because you’re an earthbender.”

“Kakashi?” Obito says helplessly.

“I don’t understand how you attend family functions and not murder anyone,” Kakashi offers.

Obito groans.

“It’s the best cover story we have. Surely you can dig up some hatred from somewhere to make it believable,” the Chief says.

“I mean… I guess I could,” Obito replies. “But really, revenge?”

“It’s simple,” Rin whispers. “Nothing complicated about revenge: your family hurt you, and you want to hurt them.”

“But I don’t!”

“Just pretend,” Kakashi says.

“Fine. I’ll do it. But only so no one gets hurt! Including my asshole family.”

“Excellent!” The Chief holds out a file to Obito. “We have one other agent already infiltrating Akatsuki and things have been going smoothly, but the more bodies we have the better. He’s ANBU, very talented. I think you know him.”

Obito nods: Tenzou’s a good choice.


	16. First Impressions

Chapter 16: First Impressions

As it turns out, Obito doesn’t need to look hard for any member of Akatsuki. They’ve been watching him, and Obito willingly obliges to meet with the organization under the pretense of having some type of interview: Obito doesn’t know if he gets to interview Akatsuki to see if they meet his ideals, or if he’s the one going to be interviewed about his intentions and abilities.

As far as first impressions go, Obito isn’t impressed. A foul-mouthed man with slicked back hair who has swear words coming out of his mouth every other sentence and smells like blood invades Obito’s personal space immediately begins chatting him up about “The Way of Jashin” while they head out of Republic City. Obito fearfully declines becoming a sacrifice for whatever “ritual” the man has planned and then spends the rest of the journey listening to Hidan argue with a scary looking man who wears a mask almost identical to Kakashi’s but doesn’t manage to make it looking charming. Kakuzu is downright intimidating, and Obito thinks at first that he and Hidan might have a similar relationship that he can Kakashi have in terms of banter and poking fun at one another, but there’s no friendliness in the bards they throw at one another: Obito thinks they may just downright hate one another.

The trek to Akatsuki’s secret base is long, tiresome, and Obito gets blindfolded for half of it. He keeps going over what he knows about identified members in order to keep himself from thinking that he’s walked right into a trap or that they already know who he is. Rin made him flashcards to help him remember each face and a list of potential weaknesses and Kakashi hadn’t said anything but, “see you in a bit” when Obito had left which meant that Kakashi wasn’t worried about how Obito would do.

Obito knows that Hidan has a strong spiritual presence and seems to be able to summon and manipulate spirits to some degree. No one has seen him bend any element, but he’s competent in hand-to-hand to a dangerous degree. There’s very little information on Kakuzu except he seems spiritually inclined as well and has the possibility to be troublesome, especially if he and Hidan could stop arguing for more than one minute.

Konan, the right-hand woman of Akatsuki according to reports, is a master waterbender with a flair for ice. She’s as deadly as she is beautiful, and Rin had to slap Obito to get him to stop staring at her picture.

Hoshigaki Kisame is another waterbender and talented swordsman. Obito doesn’t think it’s fair that a villain gets two special abilities _and_ seems to have merged with some type of shark spirit.

Sasori is (much to Obito’s jealously) an exceptionally talented metalbender who seems to deal mostly with puppets. They’re well-crafted, hard to break, and seem to be resistant to bending.

There’s a number of orange-haired members (siblings? cousins?) that Obito can’t tell apart for the life of him, but they seem to be mismatched with varying elements and spiritual abilities. Obito simply refers to them as Yakiho 1-6.

Obito knows that the leader of Akatsuki is called Nagato, although most people seem to refer to him as Pain. (Obito doesn’t really think the nickname works, but he supposes that you’re intent of world domination, you can pick your own nickname.)

Deidara is a combustionbender who seems to enjoy blowing things up as much as Itachi did when he had been gone through his “I’m a firebender, fear me!” phase.

There’s also a plant. Obito has no better words to describe the person who has definitely tried to do something with spirits and have it go terribly, terribly wrong. Obito thinks it’s called Zetsu, and he’s already eagerly anticipating Tenzou picking a fight with Zetsu because it’s a plant and it’s beyond hysterical. (From Obito’s point of view. He know how Tenzou feels about plant jokes.)

The Akatsuki lair is fairly typical, hidden in some inhospitable mountains far enough from Republic City to remain unknown but close enough to conduct business. Obito wishes he knew exactly _where_ it was so he could mobilize every officer and attack, but he’s thoroughly turned around and can only judge how far he is from home based on how long he’s been traveling.

Introductions go smoothly, and Obito takes in each name and face (already known to him) and then waits for the last Akatsuki member to take the metaphorical floor. Tenzou’s been sitting in a corner under a hat strung with long strands of paper and only moves once Hidan snaps at him.

“Hey, newbie, get with it! Tell us your name.”

Minus Obito, everyone is already dressed in matching black robes with white and red clouds. Tenzou stands up and removes his hat, and Obito feels his heart skip several beats because that is not Tenzou.

“Itachi?” Obito says in total surprise and horror. “ _You’re_ part of Akatsuki?”

And it would make sense that someone with Itachi’s skills would be sent in undercover, but all Obito can currently see if his barely even teenage cousin standing amongst a number of dangerous criminals.

“You know him?” There’s amusement in Kisame’s voice.

“He’s family,” Obito croaks out.

Their covers are definitely blown. They’re going to both be massacred, and all those nights with Rin looking over flashcards and having Kakashi help him fine-tune his fighting will be for nothing. And Shisui will be heartbroken without Itachi, and… Oh, Shisui…

Itachi takes Obito’s flub in step. “What are you doing here, Obito?” he asks casually.

“I, uh,” Obito fumbles for words. His cover story that is sort of true but he will never admit to anyone else or even himself. “I was, uh, thinking about revenge. Yeah, revenge!”

“On the family?” Itachi continues.

“Yup, definitely on the family,” Obito says with a forced smile and laugh. “Those damn Uchihas, you know how they are. But not all of them!” he adds hurriedly when he notices a sudden interest in his words. “Not all of them! Just the nasty ones! Which is most of them. But my third cousin twice removed is alright, and Aunt and Uncle-”

“Enough!” Nagato’s voice is absolute.

Obito flinches and shuts his mouth. He’s too scared to speak. Itachi, on the other hand, seems to have no problem forming words.

“I’m here for family, too,” he says.

“Again?” Hidan opens his mouth and pretends to gag. “If I have to hear one more word about your brother-”

“You’ll what?” Itachi asks with a slight tilt of his head. He’s dead serious.

“I’ll… I don’t know! Something nasty! To you _and_ him just because I’ve heard so damn much about him!”

Obito ducks for cover and is immediately swallowed by a thick shell of earth. He can hear faint murmuring and snickers, the rock around Obito turns red, and then silence.

“I’m supposed to be the only lavabending Uchiha,” Obito reminds with a hint of humor once he removes the molten rock from around himself.

The lair is a total charred mess, but every member of Akatsuki is alive and whole. Hidan’s pulled a scythe from somewhere and is clutching it in front of himself and staring at Itachi with a hint of fear.

“His eyes went red!” he accuses.

“If you ever speak ill of my brother again-” Itachi begins.

“Yes, yes,” Obito interrupts. “There will hell to pay, the world with burn, etcetera. Take it down a notch.”

Itachi looks like he’s in the mindset to the do the exact opposite, but he nods. Obito turns his attention to Hidan and his scythe.

“You’ll have to go through me to get to either Itachi _or_ Sasuke,” Obito continues, and Hidan actually retreats a few steps when Obito’s killing intent reaches maximum effect. “I may want revenge on my family, but _I_ get to decide who deserves it.” It doesn’t matter if Obito is terrified of the Akatsuki and he doubts his ability to protect Itachi from them: he’ll die trying. “Have I made myself clear?”

“C-crystal.”

“Good.”

Obito jerks his chin and a blob of rock, overheated from Itachi’s bending, hops through the end of Hidan’s robe. Hidan squeaks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> V would like to apologize to anyone who was greatly looking forward to the Akatsuki and their counterparts in this universe: out of all the episodes of Naruto that V has watched, the Akatsuki arc was not part of her viewing experience. She tried to not get into too much detail for this very reason.


	17. Set It On Fire

Chapter 17: Set It On Fire

Obito knows that his invitation to Akatsuki comes with limited information: he’ll have to prove himself and his loyalty before he gets the big secrets and plans. He spends varying amounts of time with the members honing his bending and trying to up his connection with and over spirits, but he doesn’t seem to make much progress on the spiritual side.

“It takes time,” Kisame tells him after a disastrous attempt at trying to summon spirits: Obito has set the entire cavern ablaze, and Kisame is bending water onto the purple-tinged flames. “Don’t get discouraged.”

Obito tries to smile but it comes out as a sad grimace.

“You’re naturally talented when it comes to exorcising evil spirits.” Kisame is remarkably encouraging and upbeat when it comes to trying to lighten Obito’s mood. “And you said you’ve never been trained?”

Obito shakes his head. “Meditation has always been naptime for me. All this spirit stuff is still sort of new.”

Itachi is watching from the mouth of the cavern in case Kisame’s bending isn’t enough to stop the fire.

“You’re doing very well,” he says with encouragement. “You’ve made great improvements.”

“I set the cave on fire,” Obito deadpans. “A rock cave! There’s nothing to set on fire!”

“I’m sure there are some pockets of flammable gases,” Itachi says.

“Itachi, I’m an earthbender!” Obito motions in exasperation when the last few flames are doused.

“You’re a lavabender. That’s like tangible fire.”

Obito just shakes his head and sighs. “I need a break. No more spirit stuff today or I might set something else on fire. Like water.”

Kisame is amused, and even Itachi cracks a smile. Obito picks up an orange mask swirled into a spiral focusing on his right eye and then tosses it at Itachi. The mask was a supposed “welcome to Akatsuki!” present, along with Obito’s codename, Tobi.

“Not going to wear it?” Itachi asks while Obito heads out of the cavern.

“No. I sound funny when I have it on and try to talk.”

Obito splits his time between Republic City where he continues acting as an officer of the law and Akatsuki where he tries to actively break it. He only wears the mask when causing mischief out of necessity: he can’t exactly show up to a crime scene if he’s already been seen there causing said crime.

“I think that’s the point,” Kisame notes while he picks up his massive scaled sword.

The object is harboring so much spiritual energy that it makes Obito’s nose itch. He also refuses to be alone with the sword for any period of time.

“I still don’t like it,” Obito replies with a frown.

“You don’t have to like it,” Itachi says.

Obito rolls his eyes. “What’s next on the agenda aside from me setting stuff on fire?”

“You can take your break and then we have a meeting later this afternoon,” Itachi replies.

Obito has never attended more meetings in his life since joining Akatsuki. They’re interesting and informative, yes, but they’re still meetings. Obito tries to take notes for himself and as evidence, but he usually ends up doodling a third of the way through. He’s already made a number of comic strips featuring himself and Itachi as leaders of Republic City and their antics. Rin is their vice president, Shisui is chief of police, Kakashi runs ANBU, and Tenzou… Obito hasn’t been to enough meetings to introduce Tenzou. Yet.

“That was quite the meeting,” Obito remarks once he and Itachi are on their way back to Republic City.

“Indeed.”

Most of the Akatsuki’s movements haven’t been overly violent in Republic City yet. They seem to be testing the waters with acts of destruction and haven’t quite moved onto targeting people. Obito knows that the police, ANBU, and President will all be targeted, but he hasn’t been privy to that information yet, and neither has Itachi. Itachi may have seniority over Obito, but not enough to have any more info than the earthbender. They both know that something big is coming and can only prepare as best they can.

 


	18. Blue Ribbon

Chapter 18: Blue Ribbon

Rin works the most hours out of all of the Konoha Kudu-Cranes, including temporary members, although Iruka comes in close second due to the paperwork he finishes at the Academy afterhours and takes home. Although Kakashi and Obito are technically on call twenty-four seven as part of the Police Force, Tenzou is the only one who seems to get called in for extra hours at ANBU.

Ever since adding their two extra earthbenders with Tenzou doubling as a waterbender, it’s been easier than ever to allow the Kudu-Cranes to enter more matches with less time restrictions, although Rin has started nicknaming matches when she isn’t present.

“It’s boys’ bending night,” she says with a grin while she pulls a long strand of blue silk ribbon from inside Tenzou’s helmet. “I’m so excited!”

“I want to do Tenzou’s eyes,” Obito volunteers happily.

Tenzou glares. “Last time you tried, you stabbed me!” he says hotly. “I had to bend the entire match with one eye since the other was so swollen!”

Obito waves his hand. “Look at Kakashi: he does that all the time and he’s fine.”

“Thanks,” comes the dry reply from Kakashi while he loops a green sash around Iruka’s waist and pulls it tight.

“Give me that,” Tenzou snaps before snatching a small tube of eye makeup from Obito. “Before you hurt someone.”

“I still can’t believe all you have to do is put on a little makeup and no one recognizes you,” Iruka notes in amusement while Rin holds up varying shades of lip gloss for inspection.

“People see what they want to see,” Rin says distractedly.

She’s already pinned the length of blue ribbon, expertly tied into a bow, to the back of Tenzou’s helmet. He’s still not outed himself as a dual bender, but a blue bow, some eye makeup, lip gloss, and introduction as Iburi Kinoe’s waterbending sister Yukimi was all that was needed to convince the world that the newest waterbender to the Kudu-Cranes was not just Tenzou bending another element.

Tenzou starts addling more black to his already lined eyes. Obito winces.

“What?” Tenzou demands.

“How do you do that without a mirror?” Obito wonders aloud. “I tried _with_ a mirror and I still poked myself in the eye and got it everywhere.”

“Practice.”

Rin samples the gloss while Obito wrinkles his nose at the overly sweet smell. Iruka ties Kakashi’s red sash and then pulls his helmet on. Tenzou lets Rin dab at his lips.

“Bite,” she says while she holds out a cloth, and Obito just watches and shakes his head when Tenzou obediently does.

“What?” Rin and Tenzou ask in unison once the cloth is gone.

“Makeup is weird,” Obito replies simply.

“Your face is weird,” Kakashi offers helpfully. “Makeup might help that.”

“Hey! At least I have a face!” Obito counters while the Kudu-Cranes finishing donning their padding.

“I don’t?” Kakashi says.

“I don’t think anyone except you has ever seen it, so no,” Obito continues.

“They’re worse than my students,” Iruka mutters. “They may each accidentally get a disc to the back of the head if they don’t knock it off.”

The match goes smoothly, but Obito abruptly gets up in the middle of the second round with a complaint about the lack of popcorn in his hands.

“You can’t wait for them to take a timeout?” Rin says in exasperation.

“I want popcorn now!”

Rin shakes her head and then turns around her chair. “Obito, if you’re getting up, can you get me a bag of fire flakes?”

“Sure.” Obito says before rifling around one of the lockers for Kakashi’s wallet and accompanying money.

“Don’t take Kakashi’s money without permission!”

“Sorry, can’t hear you over all the noise,” Obito lies. “How hot do you want them?”

“Just medium,” Rin replies while she glances over her shoulder to watch the match. “Yes! Kick his ass, Iruka-sensei!”

One of the positives about boys’ bending night is that whoever sits with Rin gets to watch her lose her head. Obito is currently in the process of bribing Shisui to take Kakashi’s place so he can watch Rin transition from levelheaded nurse and officer to fanatic cheerleader.

“I’ll back soon,” Obito says while Rin leaps out of her seat and leans over the wall, shouting.

Obito detours to the public seating and heads for Gate E. He sees the black robe and clouds before he can make out which Akatsuki member it is. Obito’s stomach clenches when he gets closer: it’s Hidan.

“Where’s Kakuzu?” Obito asks teasingly while the stadium bursts into applause and cheers. “I thought you two couldn’t bear to be apart.”

“Tch.” Hidan clicks his tongue and eyes the platform.

Tenzou gets knocked off the back and falls into the water. Half of the stadium makes noise of disappointment.

“You’re lucky I called you up here,” Hidan says. “I didn’t have to, you know. You could have been stuck down there with everyone else and have a front row seat.”

“Front row seat for what?” Obito asks.

He was only given the time and arranged meeting point. No other information.

“This.” Hidan is grinning. “Danzo did such a great job fucking up the city by ruining the Pro-Bending Arena, I thought I’d start things off with a little bang.”

Obito frowns: Deidara is the explosions expert, but he doesn’t see the blond or any signs of his handiwork.

“I’ve been working on this for _months_ ,” Hidan gushes. “It took me weeks to find a spirit like this. I hope you don’t mind watching your teammates get blown up.”

Obito is already running down the steps. He feels like everything is moving in slow-motion, and he’s trying to yell a warning, but the words won’t come fast enough, and he doubts anyone could hear him anyways. Iruka gets nailed in the chest and drops down to one knee. The stadium roars. And then Obito sees what Hidan has been slaving over.

It’s a spirit, so feeble and white that it’s nearly translucent. It looks like a butterfly koi, longs fins and even longer tail with a single purple splotch on its head. It’s swimming circles around Kakashi’s legs and leaving a faint trail of white smoke in its wake. It moves over to Iruka and begins making wider and wider passes until the earthbender is in the midst of the fog. Obito doesn’t know if anyone else can see the spirit or if it’s just blending in with all the dust in the air from broken discs.

Just like Iruka, Kakashi is in the thick of the smog but doesn’t realize it. He steps back with one leg, Obito knows what’s going to happen the second Kakashi takes a moment to stop bending and adjust his stance. Both arms go down to his sides before he lifts them back up. Kakashi is usually much more subtle, but Obito’s been working with him for years and know how Kakashi bends: he’s going to start throwing out punches. Obito trips on one of the steps and goes down. Kakashi’s padded hands are already closed into fists and fire forms just above his knuckles. It only takes one spark to light the fog around him, and Obito sits up, dazed, just in time to see fire engulf Kakashi and Iruka.

Obito scrambles to his feet while the stadium goes silent and fire eats away at the fog. He’s not in the right spot to jump onto either of the platforms that reaches partway out to the arena, but it doesn’t matter. Obito leaps over the railing and falls into the water without a second thought, desperate to get to his friends.

Tenzou looks up to the platform from where he’s floating in the water below when the stadium goes quiet. He can hear the gentle “whoosh” of fire and movement catches the corner of his eye. Obito leaps right over the railing and lands in the water. The look of pure horror on Obito’s face once he surfaces is all the motivation Tenzou needs to duck under the water and then spin himself in a slow half circle before he explodes up, held aloft by the water.

The entire platform is on fire on the Konoha Kudu-Crane’s side, but the flames are dying quickly. Tenzou lets his water pillar drop him onto the back of the platform. He lands hard and sees a ball of fire sputter out. Kakashi’s tried to protect himself from the blast by bending his own fire around himself as a barrier, but it only seems to have been partially successful: his uniform is visibly smoking in a few places.

Still, Kakashi is mostly upright whereas Iruka is spread out on the platform. Bending uniforms are supposed to be fire-resistant, if not downright fireproof, but Iruka’s is smoldering, the end of his ponytail is still on fire, and Tenzou feels his stomach clench at the number of exposed patches of skin that are charred. Something rushes past his elbow, and a wave of water follows.

Rin splashes the entire platform to smother any remaining fire before wrapping water around her hands. Tenzou wishes her could help, but he can’t heal any more than he can bend ice.


	19. Crow

Chapter 19: Crow

Uchiha Obito could be described using many different words: wrathful, murderous, and vengeful would not usually be some of them.

“I did not join Akatsuki to hurt people!” Obito rages.

He can’t keep his emotions in check: the entire mountainside continues to shake periodically with gentle tremors stemming from Obito’s unstable bending. No one has suggested they take the conversation into a cavern.

“Then what did you join for?” Hidan demands.

“To get revenge!” Obito shouts in reply. “But I’m the one who gets to decide on who! You almost killed Iruka!”

Hidan waves his hand dismissively. “Can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.”

The earth around Obito’s feet begins to heat up. “His lungs got seared, he got burned over a third of his body, and you think that’s just breaking eggs?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Hidan backs up when lava begins to bubble up around Obito while the earthbender remains safely standing on a patch of solid rock. “You _had_ to know not everyone in this city could come out in one piece.”

“So that gives you the excuse to go after my friends?” Obito demands.

“Enough.” Nagato steps forward to diffuse the situation, but Obito turns his attention to him.

“Did you know Hidan was going to go after my teammates?” Obito asks. “Was this all planned out and no one told me?”

No one answers. Obito goes red and then rips off his masks and throws it away: it cracks in two.

“I’m done,” he declares. “With you. With all of this. When I joined Akatsuki, I didn’t picture things going like this. I quit.”

“You don’t think you can just leave like that, do you?” Konan’s voice is even tempered, but Obito can already see everyone else shifting slightly.

Itachi edges closer to Obito. “Calm down,” he whispers.

“Calm? You want me to be calm? I’m perfectly calm!”

Obito starts bending in earnest. The lava pit around him explodes outward, although it detours around Itachi. Something small and feathery, previously perched on the inside the firebender’s collar, takes off.

“I am calm!”

The Akatsuki scatter to avoid the lava. Anyone with the ability to bend it does so.

“I am cool!”

The mountain starts shaking in earnest.

“I am collected!”

Obito hurls boulders.

“I am- Ow, Itachi, get off!”

“That wasn’t very smart of you,” Itachi remarks from where’s attached himself to Obito’s back, pinning the earthbender’s arms to his sides.

“If you don’t get off me-”

“The entire Akatsuki is going to try and kill you now,” Itachi interrupts. “We should make ourselves scarce until we can regroup.”

Obito freezes and with the sudden realization that Itachi is absolutely right and that he (they) are seriously outnumbered and quite likely outmatched.

“Shit.”

“Indeed. Now don’t let go.”

“But I’m not holding onto anythi-”

Obito knows that Itachi has been going through the same exercises as him to hone whatever spiritual abilities he possesses. Obito hasn’t seen much progress, although Itachi did seem able to meditate for hours upon end without falling asleep. Still, it becomes obvious that Itachi has made more progress than he’s let on.

He and Obito burst into a murder of crows. Or at least seem to.

“How did… When did… I think I may throw up…”

Obito puts his hands on his knees and bends over while Itachi strokes the beak of a crow twice the size of Obito. It’s glossy, black, and has red eyes and talons.

“How?” Obito sputters out.

“Misdirection,” Itachi explains while the crow nudges his hand. “Shisui taught me. The other spirits were just a distraction.”

The crow gurgles softly.

“I sent another spirit back to Republic City with a brief message about our positions in Akatsuki,” Itachi continues

“What positions?” Obito stands up and approaches with caution.

The crow turns its head and stares. It snaps at Obito’s outstretched hand before Itachi shushes it and grabs its massive head.

“He’s a friend. Be nice.”

The crow butts Itachi’s chest with its head, nearly sends him stumbling, and then reluctantly allows Obito to stroke its neck.

“I goofed,” Obito admits while he pets the soft feathers. “Big time. Worse than big time. I ruined everything. I’m… I’m an idiot.” He leans against the bird’s neck to hide his face.

“I think you made the right decision,” Itachi comforts.

“It wasn’t really a decision, I just lost my temper. I blew our covers.”

“Even so.”

The crow steps closer to Itachi and Obito nearly falls on his face.

“Yes, thank you.”

The crow vanishes.

“Wait, why can’t it fly us back to Republic City? I don’t want to have to walk the whole way! We’re being hunted, Itachi, your lovely crow spirit is probably faster!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter may be delayed a week or two due to con prep (Katsucon 2017)/V's kennel getting busy.


	20. Not Important

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> V apologizes for the delay! Her convention and work at the kennel made posting impossible. But here's the next chapter!

Chapter 20: Not Important

“I don’t like waiting,” Obito admits from where he’s stationed on a rooftop alongside Kakashi, Rin, and two masked ANBU. “I don’t even know what we’re waiting for.”

Tenzou and Itachi are each perched on the narrow ledge of the building. A small crow, with red eyes and legs, sits on top of Itachi’s head.

“Probably something bad,” Kakashi says with only a hint of interest.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a little ray of sunshine?” Rin asks dryly.

“Just being truthful.”

“We’ve had this discussion before, Kakashi: don’t be truthful at time likes this. Just keep your mouth shut.”

Itachi’s crow suddenly begins to caw. The group has a great vantage point of Republic City’s bay and sudden beam of light that hits the water and causes the entire city to shake.

“That’s unusual,” Kakashi remarks when something big and black and red and distinctly ribbon-like unfurls itself and stands up.

“That’s one big spirit,” Obito says in awe. “You think it’s friendly?”

The water begins to ripple and large green vines erupt from it and start to head for shore.

“I think not,” Tenzou replies with a loud sigh. “I’ll see what I can do about the plants.”

He stands and then hops off the edge of the roof.

Obito swallows. “I don’t think me touching that spirit is going to be enough to turn it good.”

There’s a murmur of agreement.

“How do we even try to fight that?” Rin asks. “I guess this is what Akatsuki was planning: summoning a massive spirit to wreck Republic City.”

Obito frowns and the blinks. “If Akatsuki can summon spirits, why can’t we? I just need to go find a nice big good spirit and convince it to fight this one!”

“Easier said than done,” Kakashi points out. “It took Akatsuki how much time and planning for them to get this one?”

“You’d better get going then,” Itachi says to Obito.

“Right!” Obito grabs Rin and Kakashi’s wrists. “Let’s go!”

“Where exactly are we going?” Kakashi demands.

“To the Spirit World!” Obito replies before sitting down on the roof and dragging the other two with him.

“Maybe not the best place to leave you bodies,” Itachi says once the trio have fallen back onto the roof. “I suppose I’ll have to stay here.”

The crow spirit hops onto Obito’s chest and sits. Itachi stares out to where the city meets the bay. Thick green vines are ripping up the outskirts, but Itachi can see one spot untouched by the plants: he guesses that’s where Tenzou is. There’s no way Tenzou will be able to hold back all the vines, but stopping some of it is better than none.

The large black and red spirit remains in the bay water, apparently waiting for the vines to make a dent in Republic City. Itachi thinks he can see a few bodies on the spirit: Akatsuki.

“What happened to them?” a new voice demands anxiously.

Itachi doesn’t even bother to turn and look at Shisui and the accompanying ANBU.

“They’re alright,” he replied. “We have bigger problems.”

Shisui clicks his tongue. “Is that a joke?”

“It wasn’t supposed to be one.”

Itachi’s crow stands up and tries to nip at Shisui’s fingers when he reaches over for Obito.

“We need to alert the rest of ANBU and the Police,” Itachi says. “Leave the spirit alone and focus on Akatsuki.”

“What about those plants?” someone else asks.

Itachi has no idea if anyone else in the city will have any effect on the vines. “See if we can slow them down, but if not, leave them. They’re not important.”

“Not important?”

“I think Akatsuki trying to kill you takes precedence over stopping vines,” Itachi says.

The bodies scatter. Shisui lingers.

“I’ll have to stay here and watch them,” Itachi says. “Obito didn’t think about what would happen to his body once he was in the Spirit World.”

“That’s so like him,” Shisui says. “Not thinking ahead.”

“Be careful,” Itachi warns. “All of Akatsuki are dangerous.”

**Author's Note:**

> V has 19 chapters already complete (not yet edited) and plans on updating once a week.


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